Just Tell Me You Love Me Already
by Bookfanic
Summary: Love. Jealousy. Violence. Death. 74th annual Hunger Games from Cato and Clove's POV (District 2) The real star-crossed lovers. Clato in the story later on. Please Read and Review! COMPLETE, Alternate ending is up :)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys**

**This is the 74****th**** Hunger Games from Cato and Clove's Point of View. From the real star crossed lovers of the 74****th**** annual Hunger Games. (There will be Clato later on) **

**Ok, guys, I have this whole story written out and finished. So I can post another chapter really quickly. I'll post another chapter depending on the reviews, if you like this story, please review it. Reviews are what make me want to continue writing, so depending on if I get any reviews and of they are good reviews or not I might post another chapter by tomorrow. Or if I don't get any reviews I might not post anymore chapters or if I do get some reviews maybe I'll post once a week. If you want, feel free to also add your opinion of how often I should post. Please Review! I love reading them, they make my day. **

**Rated T for cursing and violence**

**Clove's POV**

I feel the cold metal in my hand, lining it up with the moving target form of a human I throw. I hit right in the heart I can hear my trainer, Patricia congratulating me. I ignore it, I always hit my target. At least I have for the last 2 years. I got to the advanced level before anyone else, most people in here are 16-18, I'm 15 and I've been in this level for 1 ½ years. Knives are my specialty, aiming for me is easy with a knife. I love the feeling of holding them in my hand and the happy feeling that comes after I hit my target. The reaping for the Hunger Games is tomorrow, I like to consider myself ready, because well, I am like a prodigy with my amazing knife skills. I am also good with pretty much every other weapon, except for the bow. Not many people in my district use the bow, who would want to shoot someone when they could just as easily chop off their head? The bow bothers me a lot, I mean it's like a knife kind of, but you can use them from a longer distance. I've never been good with them though, so when I was 13 I decided to stop trying with it and concentrate on perfecting my skill with other weapons. I've been training all my life for the Hunger Games, as all the other people in my district have been. District 2 is the district with the most victors, then comes 1 then comes 4. The poorer districts have a nick name for us, the 'careers' since we train for the Games. It's against the rules for people to train for the games, but the capitol turns a blind eye on us. We are their favorites, and as long as we give the people living their entertainment why would they stop us? Sometimes I fear my district is a little too morbid, I mean they seem to love blood and killing. I mean I do too, I was raised like that, but I've never killed someone, though sometimes I'm tempted to. I'm sure I could kill anyone in this room right now with just a flick of my wrist.

"Alright guys', training today is over," Deus calls. He won the Hunger Games what? 9 years ago? "I'll see most of you tomorrow," he winks; he knows that most likely tomorrow two of us will be speeding on a train towards the capitol. "Remember in the Arena you're going to want to get as many weapons as you can get and that's ok, but also remember that food and warmth are just as important! Also, never let your guard down, eventually even your allies will turn on you, given a choice between Winning and glory or death what would you choose?!"

"Winning and glory!" Everyone calls. I know what Deus is talking about though, most of the time there is at least one alliance between Districts 1, 2, and 4 during the first part of the games. After they go out and kill everyone else, it's time to turn on your allies. I'll do anything to win, even if it means turning on my friends. Well, I'll make sure not to get too close to them, which would just make killing them in the end harder.

The class is dismissed and we all head out to our homes. Its dark out by now, we train from sun up to sun down, with only one break, one hour for lunch. I walk back with my best friends, Shawna and Jocelyn. Shawna has Auburn hair, brown eyes and a face splashed with freckles, and Jocelyn has brown hair and blue eyes, they are both two years older than me and they're both taller than me, but everyone my age is in the middle level so I don't have any friends my age. "You're going to volunteer tomorrow aren't you," Shawna it's not a question though, it's a statement; both my friends already know the answer.

"Yup," I grin, my friends know me so well.

"Great, then you're going to come back all rich and with an even larger ego," Jocelyn fake complained. "Though I'm not sure anyone can have a larger ego than you," she added as a second thought, "Except maybe Cato."

She's talking about Cato a boy that's year older than me and arrived the same year as me in advanced training. He is kinda hot with his sandy blonde hair, blue eyes, and large bulky muscly body. Both his parents are Victors, so he grew up in the Victors village and he has an insanely large ego. The Victors village is where people go and live after they win the games, ours has a crap load of houses in it, and we have to add more since we keep getting more and more Victors. I've never actually had a conversation with Cato, he has his friends I have mine. Though I know about him, he has a cocky arrogant attitude, and thinks he can do anything. It doesn't help that anything that he tries he ends up being able to do.

"If she comes back," Shawna says.

I glare at her, "Are you saying you doubt my ability?"

"No, it's just there's a chance you could lose, Clove. There's always a chance of that." Shawna says; she's always been the cautious one of the three of us. If she were to ever go into the games, she'd have a large chance of winning since she is strategic and insanely smart. Shawna also had a good ability to shoot and aim guns. That made her able to shoot a bow. That made me annoyed that she could do something that I couldn't.

"Oh, stop being such a downer, Shawna," Jocelyn scolds, she's usually the happy optimistic one. She's the complete opposite of Shawna, so naturally she hardly ever thinks things through and just does and says whatever pops into her mind. Also the boys flock to her like moths to a light, she's had at least what? 40 boyfriends in the last month? Well not really boyfriends just one night stands. Well not really one night stands, they can be one lunch stand, or one 5 minute stand, Jocelyn works fast. Jocelyn is amazing with a sword and hand-to-hand combat, she's very sturdily built. I for one, suck at hand-to-hand combat, since I'm so short and light. Once I tried it with Jocelyn and she just picked me up and carried me over her shoulder for half the day.

I am like the balance between Shawna and Jocelyn I'd like to think, I think things through and strategize before I act, not as much as Shawna but 30000 times more than Jocelyn. "I just want to make sure that you train when you get the chance and don't get over confident and get yourself killed." Shawna clarified. Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence.

Shawna, Jocelyn and I live in the same area. Our houses are gigantic and made of stone. Since District 2's specialty is masonry all of our buildings are elegant, fancy and beautiful. Jocelyn and Shawna's houses are next to each other, while mine is across the street. I say goodnight to them, and walk towards my door, but as soon as I hear the other two doors close behind them I turn away from my house. I want to go for a walk, and think, alone. My mom, sister and brother won't even notice I'm gone. My mom works late and when she comes home she goes straight to bed, my older sister and brother (twins) both have jobs, or they're out somewhere partying with their friends. My dad, well he apparently went into the Hunger Games at the age of 18, my mom had my older siblings at the age of 16, and had me 3 years later, the year my dad died. He and someone from District 8 were the last two, and somehow he ended up dead. I never met my dad; I was born 8 months after he died. I don't know if he even knew I existed. But I know one thing for sure, in my games; I'm going to make District 8 pay, by making sure that they don't get in the top 12. Even if it makes me die, it's what I have to do.

The night sky is a deep dark blue, with bright stars twinkling overhead; the moon is close to full tonight. I gaze up at it, I wonder if anyone else in a different district is doing the same thing as me now. It would be completely dark out if not for the street lights and the lights on in houses. I walk along the street and look around at my home, the place I grew up. I know what Shawna said is true, there is always a chance that I might die, my father proved that. But I can't show that, fear is a weakness, I must be strong and ruthless if I even want to think about winning the games. I actually hesitate do I really want to risk my life for a game? Die or kill people for some floozy people in the capitol's entertainment? Wait, where did that thought come from? Of course I will, I have to avenge my father's death if nothing else, even if I have to do it for some spoiled rich kid's entertainment. I come and sit down in a park bench; we do have a small park here in District 2, with a big elegant marble fountain in the middle of it. I look at the water, flowing so calmly and easily on the fountain; the splash noises make me feel drowsy. I lean my head back on the bench and feel my eye lids begin to fall, the last thing I see is one of the stars winking down at me from the heavens.

-0_0-

When I wake up, the sun is just beginning to rise. Great, I slept on a park bench for what might be my last night here, that's just fantastic. But what is really inconvenient for me is that I have to get home, and get ready. I jump up from the bench and begin to run towards my house. I arrive home around about 10 minutes later, panting a little. I walk up the front steps to our house and push open the door. Rex my older brother is inside watching last year's hunger games on our projector screen. I can hear upstairs that Rose had her music blasting from her room. I'm so jealous of my older siblings' names and they know it. Rex means king in Latin, and Rose is a beautiful flower, then there's Clove a spice. Yes, I love my name.

"Hey little sis, where have you been all night?" Rex asks from his place on the couch. "Or should I ask what have you been doing all night?" He winks. Rex is so not the normal over protective brother you usually think of, he's the type that if you've done it, he wants all the details. Yep, I have a perfectly normal brother.

"Sleeping," I reply.

"With who?" He winks again.

"Myself," as soon as I say it I know that I shouldn't have, I mentally face palm myself.

Rex raises his eye brows. "Oh really?"

"Rex you are such a perv!"

"Yeah, but it seems that I can at least get a real person to like me which is better than apparently you can say little sister."

I pick up the green vase that sits on a table next to be, and throw it towards Rex's head. He ducks. I knew he would, otherwise I wouldn't have thrown it. The vase breaks satisfyingly against the wall behind him. The music upstairs turns down, Oh great, Rose is coming down, I think to myself. I see her trot down the stairs, "What is going on down here?" she asks. Rose got all our parents good looks, I got all of their bad looks, and well, Rex was kind of in the middle. Rose had sleek brown hair and bright green eyes; she's tall and thin, with easy long quick working fingers. Meanwhile, I have annoying thin wispy brown hair and boring green eyes. I'm really short for fifteen, but on the upper side, I'm thin and agile. I have never been clumsy though, the only time I've knocked things over is when I'm mad, or I purposely do it. Rex has sleek brown hair like Rose's, green eyes (a mix of mine and Rose's); he's also tall, though he is muscly and thick, unlike me or Rose.

"Clove threw a vase at my head,"

"Rex is antagonizing me," we both say at the same time.

Rose looks at both of us and rolls her eyes, "Clove please clean up the glass off the floor and refrain from throwing mother's expensive valuables." I gape at her.

"Ha," Rex says. Even though they're twins, Rose is the oldest and obviously the one in control.

"And Rex, don't antagonize your sister," Rose said tuning to Rex.

Rex rolled his eyes and relaxed back down on the couch to watch the rest of the replay of the games.

I sigh and grab a dust pan and brush from the closet. Sweeping up the glass shards I imagine what will happen when I get home. I will be celebrated, as a hero, and Rex would never make fun of me again, and Rose wouldn't be able to tell me what to do. I smile at the thought. After I sweep all the glass into the pan I stand up and throw out the glass. Then I walk up the stairs to my room on the third floor. My room is in the attic, it's not like a small area though, it's gigantic. We have a flat roof with chairs on top of it. I often go up there with Jocelyn and Shawna to think or just hang out. I love my room; it is painted my favorite color, Royal blue. I have a large bed in the back corner, a dresser, wardrobe and even my personal bathroom. I look around my room; this may be the last time I see it. Don't be negative I scold myself, you will come home. I look around in my closet, what should I wear to the most important day of my life? I decide on a black sleeveless button up shirt and a pair of jeans (A/N yes the richer districts had jeans). I take a shower before changing into my clothes. I've heard that poorer districts had to wash themselves in a bucket-tub of sorts. I shiver at the thought, I almost feel bad for the other districts. After pulling on my shirt, I brush out my messy dark brown wet lump called my hair, pulling it up into a simple high ponytail at the top of my head. About an hour ago I heard the aircraft come in, signaling that the people from the Capitol have arrived.

I walk out of my house, with Rex and Rose. Rose is wearing an elegant red sun dress that goes low on her back and Rex is wearing a clean deep purple shirt and jeans. This is their last year of going to the reaping, neither of them volunteered they already had enough in their lives without needing to go to the Games, though both of them would probably win. Rose was amazing with the bow, like Shawna, they have even trained together with the bow. Since Shawna is a closer age to Rose they hang out occasionally, I can't say that that doesn't bother me. Rex is great with spears, he can throw them long distances and with his sturdy build he could take on pretty much anyone in hand-to-hand combat. I'm strong, but not even close to as strong as my older siblings.

We check in with a lady that pricks our fingers for blood, no one flinches, not even the 12 year olds. We've all experienced this or expected it to happen, who cares about a little blood loss? No one is nervous; we've trained all our lives for this if anything we are ecstatic at the chance to bring honor, glory, and wealth to our district. I can hear everyone buzzing with excitement. The stage is amazing built, made out of black marble with delicately carved patterns all along it. Masonry remember? A weird lady comes up on the stage, she comes every year from the capitol but no one remembers her name, why should we? She's just another fancy weirdo from the capitol. There are two glass bowls on the stage; they are both loaded with little pieces of paper. Almost everyone puts their name in more than once, not for the provisions we have enough of those, but for a better chance of getting into the games. My name is in over 50 times.

"Welcome, welcome, to the 74th annual Hunger Games reaping," the lady on the stage has an annoyingly cheery voice. Joy, I get to have this lady around for like the first 3 weeks or whatever of training. That's awesome… "Ladies first," she says, you can hear her ridiculous heels clicking on the stage.

The lady puts her hand into the bowl, plucking out a card at random, "Amara!" She calls. Ugh Amara is 18 and she's so annoying, with her 'perfect' blonde curls and dark hazel eyes. I'm in her class, she's amazing with most weapons but she could never throw a knife as well as me. I think that she is jealous that I got into the advanced level before she did, also that I can throw a knife better than her. She's always making fun of my brown hair and green eyes and how ugly and small I am. I know she's delighted to be picked for the Hunger Games. This just makes it 10x better stealing her last chance at ever being in the games.

Before anyone else can do it I call out, "I volunteer!"

The crowd turns to face me; no one is surprised a volunteer in the wealthy districts happens almost every year. I walk up to the stage, I can see Amara glaring at me, this was her last chance to be in the games, and I had stolen it from her. That makes me grin.

"And, you are?" The lady inquires.

"Clove," I tell her, we're not really big on last names in District 2, and I can't even remember mine.

"The female tribute from District 2 is Clove!" The lady smiles directly where the camera is pointed, I snicker she is such a suck up.

Next the oddly dressed lady trots over to the boys' bowel, she then plucks out a name by random, walking back over to the microphone she opens the card. "Rex." She calls out. I freeze and stare at her. Out of all the names she had to choose my brother? I mean he's annoying and all, but I could never kill him or bear to see him be killed. Times seem to pass by slowly, I'm confused, and why hasn't anyone volunteered yet? Just my luck the one year no one volunteers is the year I chose to volunteer and my brother is chosen to be a tribute. I want to scream in frustration, yell at someone, stomp around and kill something. But none of those things will help me now. I find Rex in the crowd; he looks just as surprised and upset as me. He slowly begins to set out of the crowd and walk up towards the stage.

"I volunteer," a voice says, coming from my left. Everyone turns their heads to see who this year's male volunteer is, it's Cato. The one person I'm not sure I can kill from District 2 from the age level of 12-18. Well, besides Rex and Rose. I could never kill my own flesh and blood.

Cato stands up, with a cocky arrogant look on his face that everyone in this District knows. His muscles rippling, gods in heaven and hell those things were big. His blue eyes are staring at me, why is he staring at me? The intensity in those eyes matches nothing I've ever seen before. They're beautiful in their own kind of way- stop it! I mentally scold myself again, I can't get emotionally attached to anyone in these games if I want to live- it'll ruin me. Cato walks slowly and leisurely up to the well-built and beautifully carved stage. He jumps up on the stage- not using the steps, I snort, show off.

"Ah, what is your name young man?" The weirdly dressed lady asks Cato. She's staring at him, oh gods, that's gross she's probably like at least 10 years older than him. Get your gross eyes off him, I want to tell her. Wait- where did that thought come from?! This no emotion thing is going to be harder than I thought if they keep popping up uninvited like this.

"Cato," he says arrogance seeping into his voice.

"Oh…" She's staring at him again. "And District 2's tributes for the 74th annual Hunger games are, Cato and Clove!"

Everyone cheers, I wonder how many of them are real, and most of them are probably from jealous people. I sneak a glance at Cato; I'm surprised to already see his piercing blue eyes already staring at me. When he sees me looking at him he gives me a cocky smirk, I can feel the heat rushing to my face. God dammit emotions stop making me embarrassed at the stupidest things! He was looking at me already!

-0_0-

I stand alone in a room in the Justice building. I know this is the time my family and friends are supposed to come and say goodbye. But nobody is here yet, have they abandoned me? Just as that thought comes into my head the door to the room bursts open, and Rose, Rex, and my mother come into the room. "Oh, my baby." My mother says; there are tears streaming down her cheeks tears of happiness or tears of sadness I cannot tell.

She hugs me, what annoys me the most is that she is hunching over, because she's way taller than me. That's me, the knife-throwing legend of District 2 15 years old and I'm 5 feet 3 inches. And wait it gets better everyone except me in District 2 are tall, so even some 12 year olds are taller than me, that may be normal height in other Districts, I don't know, but here, I'm a freaking dwarf. Cato is a year older than me and he's at least a foot taller than me. Boy these games are going to be tall- I mean fun. "Mom, mom, I'm going to come home." I hug my mother back awkwardly.

"Yeah mom, she's practically a living goddess of killing, she'll make it back home just fine," Rose smiles at me.

My mom stands up and wipes her eyes. "Yes, yes, I know. But you'll come back… different. I'm going to miss you Clove." She kisses me on the cheek. I know if she keeps doing this I'm going to cry too. I will not pull a Johanna Mason, sure she pretended to be weak but it made people look down on her until she kicked their sorry asses. But if I'm going to get to be in the 'career' pack I cannot be weak. Emotions are weakness, I can't afford weakness. Not any kind of weakness.

"Well, if Clove's a goddess of killing, then Cato's the major god of it, have you seen him fight?" Ugh, Rex I'm so going to kill him when I get back home, I don't care how relived I was that he was out of these games. I'm going to kill him, painfully.

"Well thank you, big brother, for this enormous vote of confidence you've given me." I smile sweetly at my older brother.

"Alright guys don't fight," Rosie scolds us both. "We have like 60 seconds left with Clove before she returns a grown up victor." She gives me a small smile. I run to her and hug her. I can't help it, 45 seconds left of emotion.

"Ah look she's a cry baby," Rex says, I turn to him; I do feel my eyes turn glassy. I punch him in the stomach, hard. "Owe!" Rex complains; I hug him to make it up. Truthfully it probably hurt me to punch his stone hard abs than it hurt him to get hit, but it's nice of him to pretend.

Then the four of us hug, I recognize this may be the last time. Tears stream down my cheeks; I don't even bother to wipe them away. Then the jerk ass white-clad peace keepers had to come and ruin the moment, the one moment that my whole family is together and it just gets ruined. My mother kisses me on the cheek, Rex gives me one last squeeze and last Rosie whispers to me, "I know you can do it, good luck, I'll see you soon." She then hugs me, "We love you, Clove." She presses something into my hand, and then she follows my mother and Rex from the room. I look down in my hand, it's Rose's white-gold Sapphire ring. She got this ring for being the best in her training class, she even graduated early. I clutch the ring to my heart and slip it on my finger.

I plop down on the couch behind me, this is the most affection my family has ever shown me, especially Rose. I feel the hot salty tears running down my face, some of them streaming on to my lips. I furiously wipe my eyes. 45 seconds of emotions remember? My brain reminds me. I take a deep breath and slow my breathing. I get up and walk to the mirror and I begin to take a tissue and wipe my cheeks. Now all that's left is to get my eyes from being puffy and red. That's when the door opens again, Jocelyn and Shawna run straight into the room. They both run up to me and give me hugs.

"Oh Clove," Shawna sighs. "Why…"

"I'm fine," I sniff.

"No you aren't," Jocelyn pulls me into a hug. "What's wrong? I thought you had everything in your dreams?" she asks.

"Oh god, Joce," Shawna says. "What's wrong? Really? She's going into the Hunger Games where only one comes out alive with Cato the killing machine."

"Oh," Jocelyn holds out the oh sound for longer than needed.

"It's not just that, though that bothers me too," I sniff. "My family, we had a, a moment. Like you know? A real loving family moment and they all pretty much told me they loved me. And now there may be a chance I don't return."

"You're being dramatic," Jocelyn says. "You can totally win! You're the youngest girl in the history of District 2 to ever be in the advanced class!"

"Yeah, and Cato has the capability of killing a ferocious beast with no weapons." I point out.

"Then throw a knife into his heart," Jocelyn advised.

"Yes, and if she misses she makes an enemy of the 'career' group." Shawna says.

"Oh, goodness, don't take my advice!" Jocelyn exclaims embarrassed.

"I learned that many years ago," I giggle. Dear god I just giggled what the hell is going on with me?!

"Did you just… giggle?" Jocelyn asks astonished.

"Oh shut up," I say irritated with myself.

"Lay off, Joce, she's nervous." Shawna scolded. "You can do this, Clove. Remember be brave but also don't forget to think things through ok?"

"Shawna you're going to be in my head for the rest of the games now!" I complain.

"Is that really that bad?" Shawna asks. I laugh.

"What about me?" Jocelyn huffs.

"Oh, you'll be there too." I tell her. "Scolding me about what I'm wearing I assume."

"I'll be here doing just that," Jocelyn looked pleased.

"Reminder, I don't pick the outfits."

"So? You can still do something good with it." Jocelyn shrugged.

"Yes, I'm so going to cut my outfit so I look hot on TV."

"You should do it," Jocelyn nods her head vigorously. This is the time when I ignore her horrible advice.

"Don't," Shawna says.

I laugh nervously, "Wasn't planning on it."

The peace keepers open the door. Damn, peace keepers ruining special moments since before the districts were made.

Jocelyn and Shawna quickly give me a quick hug, "See you in a month or so," Shawna tells me.

"Good luck," Jocelyn says.

They leave before the peace keepers forcefully take them out. I withhold tears watching them go. Why did I volunteer? Because, I grit my teeth, I can do this, I will win, I will.

-0_0-

No one else comes to visit me after Jocey and Shawna; soon afterwards I am walked out to a black car that will drive me to the train station. Cato is walked out with me, he wears his cocky grin and his handsome face was tear-free. I made sure to get rid of all signs of tears before I came out. Even somehow the redness in my eyes faded before I came out. I walk towards the car in an arrogant strut; I know that the people in the Capitol are watching; I need to show them that I am confident in my abilities to win. I need to show them that I know that I am coming home and that I will be the survivor. I need to show them that I will be able to do the exact thing that I'm wondering if I can do.

-0_0-

**Cato's POV**

I'd never noticed Clove before I graduated into the advanced class. She was and still is the youngest to ever get into that class. Before that she was just some scrawny little girl that no one took notice to. Well, no one took notice to the skill that she had, not her. She was picked on; a few times it had been me picking on her. But when she got into at the age of 13 everyone was astonished. I thought people would be impressed that I'd gotten in at 14, but people had done that before, I was just ignored. At first I'd thought that it had to be some kind of mistake, like she'd somehow hacked her way into the advanced class. Then I saw her throw knives. It hit every single one of the moving targets. Everyone was staring at the little girl in astonishment. I mean little too; she was probably like four feet tall. To this day Clove remains smaller than the rest of us from District 2. I don't really understand why, since all the rest of her family is pretty tall. She turned and smirked at every single one of our astonished faces. I was incredulous; a 13 year old had a better smirk than me. I was going to need to work on that. Over the last one and a half years I've watched Clove from the corners of my eyes. I know it's creepy, but it would be creepier if I stared at her all day everyday wouldn't it? I've watched her knife throwing; she's never missed her target not even once in all this past time. Knives are obviously her strong suit; Clove's weakest point is archery. Though I've got to admit that it hard to do, even I can't do it. Clove can handle a gun, sword, and pretty much any weapon you give her besides a bow. I've watched her (stop judging!) gain popularity with some older girls, I mean seriously, a 15 year old is best friends with two 17 year olds. Though I've noticed she's never had a boyfriend I have to wonder why since she is so beautiful and talented.

Then today, I was planning on volunteering today, I'd warned off pretty much everyone else from doing so. Then she volunteered. I couldn't go into the arena with her! I couldn't kill her! That'd be like ripping my own heart out, which I wasn't willing to do. So I was going to let whoever it was that got pulled from the bowel go into the games, and I was going to let Clove kill him. Then her brother got picked, I saw a look of panic rise to Clove's face, I knew it would be the end of her if she had to kill her brother. So I did the stupidest thing possible, I volunteered.

She looked surprised to hear someone volunteer, when she saw that it was me she looked confused, joyful, and concerned. The confused was probably due to the fact that I had just spared either her brother or her from dying, the joyful was that she didn't have to kill her brother just kill me (yay) and the concerned, was that concern for me or concern for how to beat me? Probably the second. I can't kill her though, but I want to live at the same time, so the best choice would be… Well the romantic one would be to sacrifice myself for her make sure that she wins, that unromantic thing to do would be let her die, lead her into a trap or something. I know there's only one option for me in that list, and I'm not sure that I like it, but at the same time I couldn't stand the other.

I am now standing alone in a room in the justice building. I clutch the gold necklace that I wear always, I will use it as my token, and it was what my father wore into his games, so maybe it'll grant me good luck. My ears, being like bats hear something coming from the wall, I lean up against the wall and press my ear to it.

"Yeah mom, she's practically a living goddess of killing, she'll make it back home just fine," that sounds like Rose, Clove's beautiful older sister.

"Yes, yes, I know. But you'll come back… different. I'm going to miss you Clove." That's probably her mother. I always wondered where Clove's dad was.

"Well, if Clove's a goddess of killing, then Cato's-" Rex began. Then the doors to the room I was standing in opened up. It was my mother, and my little brother. This is probably the last time that I will ever see them again. I yearn to listen back against the wall and find out what I am. But I know I can't my mother would for sure scold me for listening in on a conversation.

"Oh Cato, I know you can do it, I know you can win." My mother comes up and hugs me. I get a mouthful of her blonde hair.

I spit it out. "Mom," I complain.

"I'm sorry, it's just I'll miss you after you leave." My mother hugs me again.

"But we know that we'll see you again." My little brother Solis adds in. Solis is only 3 so he doesn't exactly know what's going on, but he knows that I'm going away.

"Yes, we do." My mother smiles at me. She has full belief that I'm coming back, probably more belief than I do.

I kneel down and hug Solis. Then I pick him up and spin him around in the air, "You be good and take care of our mother, ok?" I tell him.

"Yep!" He says joyfully.

"Someday you're going to go into the Hunger Games and win them too," I tell him. Solis nods. "Where's father?" I ask.

"Oh… he had to work." As in he didn't care enough to say goodbye to me, thanks dad.

"Oh."

"I heard who your mentors are," my mother smiles. "It's Brutus and Chelsey."

They're good friends with my family. "Oh," is all I can say.

"Yes, so if you train your hardest, and work your hardest, I'm sure you can make it out alive." My mother says confidently. "But you may want to get rid of that other girl first…. What her name? Cinnamon?"

"Clove," I fill in, the sound of her name makes me smile.

"Stop smiling," my mother instructs, I stop. "Yes get rid of Clove first, the people in your Alliance won't see it as weakness but they'll see it at strength. If you get rid of her first you have no one else to worry about, you can take care of 1 and 4 no problem and the rest are just waiting to be hunted." My mother smiles, she won the Hunger games like 15 years ago, and my father won like 17 so technically we own 2 houses in the Victors Village.

"Mother?"

"Mm, yes?" my mom seems deep in thought probably about her games.

"I love you," I hug her.

"Oh, I love you too, sweetie," she hugs me back.

Solis hugs my leg. My family has full confidence I'll make it out, more confidence than I have in myself.

-0_0-

Solis and my mom are the only people to come and visit me, the rest of the time I just lounge around, bored. I tried listing into the wall again, but she was just talking to Jocelyn and Shawna so I decided to give Clove a little privacy. Clove, Clove, Clove I love her name it the most beautiful word I've ever heard and she's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Finally the peace keepers walk me and Clove from the Justice building towards a black car that will take us to the train station. Clove is walking out cockily and with full confidence. I wonder what her friends or/and family said to stroke her ego. She's walking with all the confidence in the world that she will win, and she has a pretty large chance to win, so maybe there's the reason for it. We climb into the back of the car, the peace keepers walking along with us the whole way, as if we'd try to run away.

Clove seems to feel uncomfortable sitting next to me in the car. I don't know why, I'm shockingly handsome. She's being quiet, lost in thought. When we arrive to the train station she walks to the train, again with confidence and arrogance, I watch her, she's so beautiful. I can't help but admire her. The capitol woman- Ellen- leads us to a car in the elevator that has couches and food galore. She smiles, "you can explore the train all you want, you shall be shown to your bedrooms later, and eat anything." She winks at me at the bedrooms part. Gods, how old is this lady? "The rules here are simple, don't attack anyone, don't kill the other tribute, and don't run away." Yes, I so volunteered just to run away and endanger my family, and Clove.

Clove walks over and plops herself down on one of the many cushions couches, she immediately crosses her arms and legs, she looks bored. I sit across from her.

"So…" What should I say?

"Hey…" Clove says even more awkwardly.

Before we can have this extremely awkward conversation, the door slides open. Clove's head whips to the side, I turn my head to see Brutus and Chelsey enter the room. Brutus is wearing a tight black T shirt and Jeans, Chelsey is wearing a strapless black shirt and jeans, matching much?

"Cato!" Brutus smiles, Chelsey comes and hugs me, no District 2 like at all, but hey, I've known them all my life.

I can feel Clove watching us. "Um, Brutus, Chelsey, this is Clove the girl from District 2." Chelsey and Brutus turn and seem to study Clove for a while. She narrows her eyes at them, not helping to make a good impression Clove I mentally call out to her.

"So you're the living legend of 2," Chelsey says, she cocks her head sideways. "You're not much."

I can see Clove's teeth grinding and her hands balling into fists. I stand up hastily, "Yes, Clove is amazing at throwing knives she's never missed her target."

"Yes, yes, I've heard all about you," Brutus looks interested. "So why did you choose knives as your specialty?"

Clove seems to think before answering his question, "Because I wanted something with range that could still be lethal in close courters." She answers.

Brutus chuckles, "Smart." He says. Obviously Brutus had taken immediate liking to Clove, sadly Chelsey had not. She was still glaring at Clove, Clove glared straight back.

"Well," Chelsey says slowly, "It's obvious who's going to bring glory and honor to District 2 this year, and it's not the girl."

Clove glares at Chelsey, Chelsey glares back. Then Clove lunges at Chelsey, knocking them both to the floor. They both begin to roll around; sending punches and kicks at each other as much as they possibly could. Chelsey grabs Clove's ponytail and yanks on it, hard, Clove gasps in pain, but not for long as she punches Chelsey in the face soon after. I watch in horrid fascination, if Clove can stand up this well against a Victor, maybe she might not need my help at all in the games. Then comes the part where I and Brutus had to pull the two girls apart. Clove grabs a butter knife from the table near them and slams it down into Chelsey's hand, pinning it to the floor. Chelsey yells in pain. Me and Brutus each go forward, I grab Clove off Chelsey and Brutus pulls the knife from Chelsey's hand and picks her up off the ground, both girls are fighting to get back at each other. "Clove! Seriously! Stop!" I exclaim; she's like a rabid animal at the moment. Clove stops, to my surprise, she then turns in a manner that forces me to let go of and stomps out of the room. "Really?" Brutus asked Chelsey, she really didn't have to be so cruel to Clove. It's not like Clove did anything to her.

Chelsey shrugs, "I didn't like her."

"That doesn't mean you have to pick on her," Brutus points out.

"She seemed snotty and overconfident," Chelsey insists.

"She hadn't even said a word to you before you started to pick on her."

"She narrowed her eyes at me as soon as I looked at her!"

"So?"

"It was offensive."

"No it wasn't."

I decided to leave Brutus and Chelsey to their bickering while I go and find Clove. I look in every train car, and she's not in any of them. I even checked Chelsey and Brutus's rooms; she wasn't in any single one of the train cars. I wonder if she jumped from the train, but then I think again, Clove's smart she wouldn't do that, what she would do, is go somewhere no one would think to look.

Where would I never go? Well outside the train. But she's obviously not out there the train is going like 250 miles per hour. Where else? I walk into Clove's room and sit on the bed. No it's not creepy, it's not like she's changing or anything, and she's not even here. Then I see it, the edge of the carpet is folded up on the end, there is an old fashioned laundry chute. It's like from the 20th century or something. No one uses those things anymore; I'm surprised there even is one of those in here. But looking at it, it looks like that's where Clove went.

The chute's opening is just big enough to fit me, obviously if Clove went down this, she'd fit easily. I go down the chute fast, and land on top of something warm and squishy.

That warm and squishy thing is Clove. I'm literally lying on top of her. A-w-k-w-a-r-d I know. She stares up at me in surprise, I roll off her. This is just as awkward for her as it is for me. I'm about to say an apology or something about landing on her but she beats me to it. "How did you find me?"

"I went into your room and the carpet was rolled at the corner where you jumped through," I admit.

"You went into my room?" She smirks and raises an eyebrow.

"Um, yeah…" I want to change the subject, "are you alright? Sorry about Chelsey she can be a little…."

"Bitchy." Clove fills in.

I laugh, "I guess you could say that, but I don't advise doing it in front of her."

Clove lets out a little smile, "So, Cato, I have a question for you."

I am hesitant but I don't show it, "Shoot," I say.

"Why did you volunteer?"

Should I answer truthfully or just lie? "Um, I did it because nobody should have to kill their own flesh and blood, also I warned everyone else from volunteering so it would be my fault if one of you killed each other," a sliver of the truth.

Clove smiles, it's beautiful. "Thank you," she says.

"No problem, I've wanted to be in the Hunger Games for a while now anyway." I tell her, I have, just not in the same games as her.

"Same," Clove says. "I've seen you use a sword, you're really good, though, probably not as good as me." She smirks

"Oh really?" I raise my eyebrows at her.

"Really," She says with an arrogant look on her face.

"Well, maybe we'll just have to test that theory of yours so I can prove you wrong." I say.

"Maybe we should, so I can prove I'm right," Clove replies. Every minute I get to know her better I seem to like her more.

I roll my eyes, "You can try, knife girl."

"Did you just call me knife girl?" she grins.

"Yes, I believe that I did." I grin back.

"You're going down Cat."

"Seriously Cat?" I ask her.

Clove laughs.

"Or you could just call me hottest ever-supreme-destroyer," I inform her.

"But Cat fits better." She fakes whining.

I laugh, I haven't laughed like this for a long time.

"So Clove, are you planning on sitting here until we get to the Capitol?"

"No, just for a while, to think." She says. "I think best when I'm alone."

"There's a lock on your door for that." Clove smiles.

"Well, I guess, but down here seems more… private, if you hadn't noticed no one's been here in ages."

I look around; it is rather dusty down here. Clove is sitting atop a blanket, I'm pretty sure that my clothes are being covered with dust at this very moment.

I guess Clove notices me looked at my clothes because she says, "you can come sit on the blanket if you want," she scoots over and pats her hand beside her.

"Um, thanks." I get up and sit next to her. "Wow," I look around, "I didn't think it was possible for a train to have a laundry chute."

"Yeah, neither did I," Clove admits. "I just saw it, and thought why not? I mean, I did grab a blanket first though, no one's used these types of room in centuries."

"Yeah, well I just came down here head first," she laughs again, I love Clove's laugh, it's like a bell.

"Cato, did you come down here just to say that you're sorry for Chelsey?" Clove asks.

"Um, I came down to see if you were ok too…"

"How gentlemanly of you," I turn to face Clove; I see merriment in her eyes.

"Yes, I'm known for my gentlemen tendencies."

Clove smiles. "Yeah, and I'm known as the President-in-training of Panem."

I can feel how close she is to me, and that if I just leaned forward the slightest I could kiss her. But if I did that, she'd probably slap me in the face, ruining any chances of my friendship with her.

"I also came down here to see if I could find an ally, one that I can trust that won't stab me in the back in the Games."

Clove sighs, "The Games, I've been waiting for my chances my entire life, now that I'm actually going to be in them, I'm unsure if I made the right choice."

"Well," I check my watch. "5:30 right now and they are replaying the reapings every hour, so if we go upstairs and clean up, we can watch the reaping at 6."

"Ok, Cat, be ready then." Clove stands up. "Meet me in my room at, 5:50?"

"Sure, but why not my room?" I ask.

Clove smirks, "because you seem to know where my room is better than I know where yours is."

I feel heat rising to my face, what the heck?! Am I blushing?

"By the way," Clove adds, "since you're the last one sitting, you get to take the blanket." With that she bolts from the room, opening a door that I didn't even notice, leaving me alone with a dirty dusty blanket.

-0_0-

After I shower and change my clothes it is 5:45. I still have 5 minutes left, so I decide to get some snacks. I walk out to the main car, where we sat earlier. Brutus and Chelsey seemed to have gone to their rooms, so this room is empty. I grab a giant dish of what I think are cannoli's, and pile on some other food, then I carefully make my way towards Clove's room. I knock on the door, 3 times. Clove opens the door at the end of the third knock, she looks great. She is wearing a deep green shirt, jeans and some leather combat boots.

We go and sit down on Clove's comfortable feather mattress. "So, what's the food for?" Clove asks.

"I thought we might get hungry," I say. "I love munching on unhealthy things while watching TV."

"I like your way of thinking, Cat." She grins at me and picks a cannoli off the plate, stuffing half of it in her mouth.

"It is 5:58 turn the projector on." I instruct.

Clove picks up a piece of glass from the bedside table and runs her hand along it. The TV/projector flicks on and the lights go out Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith appear on the screen they are talking about something useless. Clove is next to me, now she's inhaling a cream puff, Jesus this girl eats fast, it makes me like her even more.

"And now," Caesar says, "Here are this year's reaping for the 74th annual Hunger Games."

The screen/projector comes on starting with District 1. Both from 1 are volunteers, no surprise there, the female tribute is tall with green eyes and blonde hair, her name is Glimmer, ugh 1 has the stupidest names. The male from 1 is lanky, he has short light brown hair and green eyes, and named Marvel (exactly what I said about the names.) Then it shows 2, Clove volunteering, and then me, it cuts out the little part of everyone waiting before I volunteered. 3, I barely notice anything interesting there, just some people to kill. Then there is District 4, that's the 3rd 'career' district, they have the least amount of Victors from all the careers, though some years ago Finnick Odair did win his games, no problem and put on a great show for the Capitol. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 pass by quickly in my eyes, nothing to see there. But in 11, there is a large bulky male tribute and a young small female tribute, the male looks promising. Then there's 12, the female there volunteered people in the poorer Districts almost never volunteer so this will be interesting. Caesar and Claudius appear back on the projector/screen, "this year's games look quite promising, do they not, Claudius?"

"Yes, yes, I quite agree." Claudius replies. "It's not every day that someone volunteers from a poorer district. This might make this year's games the best yet."

"Anyway," Caesar says, "We'll see you in the next hour, or at the tribute parade." He winks and the screen starts to play useless stuff. Clove grabs the glass and seems to dial things on it, the lights pop back on and the screen/projector clicks off. I look down at the plate of food that sits between us. During the reaping replays I'm fairly sure I had maybe 5 pastries and some cookies, though the plate is half empty.

I raise my eyebrows at Clove. "What? I was hungry and I like sugar." She shrugs.

"Yes, and you ate half of a gigantic plate of pastries in about a 20 minute show."

"Are you suggesting that I'm fat?" Clove asks in mock offense.

"No, I'm just saying you're a fast eater and probably a sugar addict."

"You got that right," she tries to take another pastry from the dish, but I grab the plate away before she can. "Cat," she complains. "Give them back. No rhyme intended."

"I think you've had enough sugar," I say, standing up. She tries to make a grab for the plate; I lift it above my head.

"Well, now you're just being insulting," Clove says. She's talking about the fact that she's short. Clove is now on her tippy toes trying to get the dish.

"Nah-ah," I hold the plate higher.

Clove jumps up on the bed and tries to reach them from there; I move the plate away from the bed.

"Shorty," I mock.

Clove grins, she jumps off the bed onto me, and I was not prepared for that, we both go falling to the floor, the pastry dish spilling.

"Ah, c'mon, Cat I thought you had a better grip than that." Ha, she should try having someone jump at her from a bed while she has a dish balanced on the tips of her fingers and see if she can hold onto it.

"Yeah, well I guess you're getting your revenge from me landing on top of you." I point out that she's still lying on top of me.

Clove shrugs, "I've been in worse situations." What does that mean?

At that moment Chelsey and Brutus come into the room. They stare at us from our place on the floor. Clove scrambles off me. "Well, well, what's going on in here?" Brutus grins.

"The annoying one is trying to screw Cato," Chelsey says. I notice that her hand is bandaged.

"I see you're back to your great to be around self again," Clove says, smiling blandly at Chelsey.

Chelsey ignore Clove and stares up at the ceiling.

"Uh, Chelsey had decided that since this year's female tribute is ah," Brutus pulls out a sheet of paper from his back pocket. "You know what? I'm not going to finish this list. Chelsey is quitting from mentoring this year, Enobaria will be filling in for her, and we'll be meeting her when we arrive at the Capitol."

"Ok," Clove says a bit too perkily.

"Oh, one thing before I leave," Chelsey says. "Cato, it'd be best to stay away from the little-" I'm not even going to think about the long list of insulting things Chelsey now uses to describe Clove.

"Awe," Clove puts her hand to her chest. "That's so sweat, I'm touched." Her temper is defiantly in control right now.

Chelsey stamps her foot and stomps out of the room. Brutus smiles weakly, "I think she was trying to get you mad again," Brutus addresses Clove.

Clove smiles, "I know, so I thought she'd be most annoyed if I let it in one ear and out the other."

"Well it worked," Brutus chuckled. "I should a- go talk to her. And, you may want to get a servant to clean this up." He waves his hand at the pasties on the floor then leaves the room.

I do decide to call a servant in to clean up the pastries, but Clove also instructs the girl to get us some hot chocolate and cookies, and not to come back until she had lots of both. The poor girl looked scared to death. After the girl leaves I turn to Clove, "you really have a way of getting what you want don't you, Clove?"

"Yep, Cat, it's one thing you should learn about me." She stretches out on her bed, head leaning against the pillows; she is just over halfway on the bed.

I jump onto the bed and sit next to her. "So about the games," I say casually. "Allies till the end?"

Clove seems to hesitate, "Allies to the end. I'm only saying this because I trust you, Cat. Please don't betray it."

I wouldn't ever do that. "Never," I tell her. Clove smiles up at me.

"Look what I found in here," Clove tells me, she pulls out the glass remote again and turns back on the projector screen. "They have every single one of the Hunger Games on here." She says happily.

I have got to admit, I'm quite interested in this myself. "So, how should we play it?" I ask. "1-73 or 73 down to 1?"

"I'm thinking, 1 to 73." Clove says.

I don't care; I just want to watch them again. "Sure," the servant girl comes into the room with a humongous silver steaming pitcher and a large plate of cookies.

"Is this good enough for you, Miss?" the servant asks Clove hesitantly.

"Yes, yes, this is great!" Clove beams at the girl who looks confused. "Thank you."

The servant sets the plate, pitcher and two mugs down on the bedside table next to Clove and leaves the room.

"Wow, Clove, sugar really gives you mood swings."

"Hmm?" Clove is distracted pouring hot chocolate in the mugs. "Here," she hand me a mug. I take a sip; it is delicious, just like I remember it.

"I said sugar really gives you mood swings."

"What do you mean by that?" Clove raises her eyebrows at me.

"I mean, one minute you're all harsh to the servant and the next you're beaming at her because she brings you a plate of cookies."

"Whatever Cat, is it wrong to enjoy good food while I still can?"

"I guess not, anyway all I was saying is that you get mood swings around sugar. I'm going to hate to see you in the Arena with no sugar."

"That's my motivation to get out," she jokes, "getting sugar again."

We both laugh.

Clove turns down the lights and plays the first Hunger Games.

-0_0-

Around 3 a.m. Clove drifts off, we're almost done the 24th Hunger Games when she does. She has her head leaning against my shoulder and cookie crumbs on her cheeks. God, she looks cute. After these games are over, I take the remote and turn the projector screen off. Clove looks so much younger in sleep, less snarky and confident. As soon as I turn the screen off I realize how tired I am. I lean my head back and close my eyes, sleep takes me almost immediately.

**Ooooo he fell asleep, major cliff hanger. Ok so remember, I have this whole story already completed it depends on you whether or not I post more. Though I really hope you like it so far, after all I worked really hard on this. Cato and Clove are my favorite characters in the first book so maybe now you can like them too, at least a little. See you next time- Bookfanic **


	2. Chapter 2: The Tribute Parade

**Hey guys, thanks for all the amazing reviews! They made me feel so good! I loved reading them. I really hope that you enjoy this chapter; it's about the Tribute Parade, mainly. I love you guys, you're amazing, I'm glad you like my writing. 3 **

**Strangelove9: Um what? I don't think Katniss was really in the last chapter? **

**Anon (Guest) : Aw thanks, yeah I was crying when I wrote Clove's death scene and I don't cry a lot**

**Guest: Thanks, haha, I'm not going to post al of it right away, but it does make it more encouraging to post the chapters faster **

**Loopid: Thanks, well, I posted a new chapter! **

**Clove's POV**

When I wake up, I'm snuggled against Cato. Wow, when did I fall asleep? He looks oddly peaceful, so I decide not to wake him up. I've only known Cato for less than a day and I already trust him with my life. That may be strange, but when we talked in the old laundry room I felt a bond, a connection to him, something I've never felt before. Cato isn't all that arrogant; he's actually pretty funny and sweet. Nothing I ever thought of him as. Guess we all have a personality hidden beneath a mask.

I slowly and carefully slide away from Cato; he has his arm around me. That made it a little more complicated. Though I make it, grabbing some clothes I go off into the bathroom to take a shower.

-o_o-

When I come back into my bedroom, Cato is awake and watching something on my projector screen. When he sees me, he turns it off.

"Morning sleepy Cat," I tell him.

"Morning Clove," he grins. "You know, we should arrive at the Capitol today."

"I feel ecstatic," I say sarcastically.

"I feel the same, though training for the games is going to be fun."

"True, I can't wait to intimidate the other tributes." Cruel? I prefer to think differently.

Cato grins, "We have to make an impression."

"One that shows we're a force to be reckoned with." I say.

"Yes, exactly."

"Anyway I'm going to get some breakfast, I'm hungry. You gonna come?"

"I don't have anything better to do," Cato shrugs.

He stands up and gets out of the bed.

"Wait," I say taking a comb off my dresser. "Cat, your hair is a mess." I reach up, and pull him downwards so he's in a crouch, then I begin to comb out his hair.

"You're worse than my mother," he complains playfully. "At least I don't have to crouch down for her."

I playfully smack him in the arm, "Oh shut up kitty."

Once I'm done I let him stand up again, as soon as he's up he runs a hand through his hair.

"Cat! Now I'm going to have to do it again!" I exclaim.

"Not if you can't catch me, Shorty." He grins and runs from the room. I put the comb down before I sprint after him; I have no intention of combing his hair again.

I follow him into the main car, there is food stacked everywhere in here. In the main car he has his back turned to me, so I decide on a surprise attack. I jump and grab Cato's neck, so I'm in the piggyback ride position. "Caught!" I exclaim joyfully.

"Are you going to comb my hair now?" Cato complains.

"Nope," I say happily. "I just wanted to prove to you that I can catch you."

Brutus is smiling a little wistfully at us.

"So, what were you and Brutus talking about?"

"Survival techniques," Cato says.

"Alright, let's hear them." I say, jumping off of Cato's back, spinning and landing on my feet beside him.

"Well," Brutus goes into a whole speech about how 2 is the strongest and most likely to win District and how we are the leaders of the Alliance. We need to pick the best for our team….etc.

I sit down to listen to Brutus's ideas and talk, picking up a bagel and putting extra cream cheese on it. As soon as I sit down, Cato sits next to me and plucks the bagel from my hand, taking a huge bite out of it. I roll my eyes at him, get up and pick up a Danish pastry, making sure to take a big bite from it before sitting back down.

"Any questions?" Brutus asks.

I shake my head, I got everything that he said, I look at Cato, he shakes his head too, he's still eating my bagel.

"Ok," Brutus checks the gold watch on his hand. "It is 11:37; we should be arriving in the Capitol in, 13 minutes, go get ready." He shoos us from the main car.

Cato goes to take a shower and change. I decide to change too; I wear a dark red velvet shirt with a see through beck mesh, and a V neck. I also put on a pair of black legging and combat boots to go with the shirt. I pull my messy annoying hair into a high ponytail, making sure there are no extra strands poking out.

I hear a knock on my door, it's obviously Cato. I walk up to the door, "Password?"

"Knives?"

"Wrong."

"Games?"

Wrong."

"I have a plate of cannoli."

I open the door.

"I swear you're trying to make me fat." I tell Cato.

"I am not," he says indignantly. "It's you that's actually eating it; I'm just delivering the food."

"True, true," I say.

"We should be arriving in the Capitol in 3 minutes." He reminds me as I take a cannoli.

"That's great." I eat the cannoli and take another.

"So, you might not want to have cannoli cream on your face," he takes his thumb and wipes the side of my mouth. He looks embarrassed after he does it.

"Well, it's gone now." I say cheerily hoping to break through the awkwardness that followed his actions.

"Guess so," Cato says, grabbing a cannoli for himself. He only brought a small plate that had four on it, so there's one left. We both stare at it. "You've had more than me." Cato points out.

"You stole my breakfast," I tell him, taking the cannoli before he can. Mm, cannolis are my favorite food.

"CATO! CLOVE! WE'RE GOING TO BE IN THE CAPTIOL IN LITERALY 10 SECONDS!" We hear Brutus call. I guess that's our sign to go back out to the main car.

I look out the window at the Capitol, it's humongous I've never seen anything like it in my whole life. There are people all along the sidelines screaming and waving at us. They are dressed very strangely. They look a lot like Ellen where ever she went for the whole train trip. I wave to the crowd as we speed by them; this makes them go even wilder. "Cato! Wave!" I instruct him. He too, begins to wave at the crowd. They love this, but before they break open the train to get to us we arrive at the train stop.

Peace keepers are protecting the borders of the train stop from the insane Capitol citizens. Cato and I are lead down some stairs towards who knows what, Brutus has gone off somewhere and Ellen walked off probably to see all her Capitol weirdo friends.

At the bottom of the stairs we ride an elevator that goes quickly to the side for a few minutes then goes up. "Welcome!" A lady with fuchsia hair, eyes, and pink skin hurries up to us, "This is the Remake Center; here you will meet your prep teams and your stylist. The male shall go through that door," she points to her right, "and the female that one." She points to her left.

"No, we should stick together." Cato is protesting. I have an odd feeling that he might attack the lady to make sure he can come with me.

I reach my hand up and put it on his shoulder, not just to comfort him but also if he tries to attack fuchsia woman I might be able to hold him back. "Cato, I'll be fine. We are just going to be prepared for the Tribute Parade; it isn't the Hunger Games yet."

I stop and let that sink in to his thick head. "Fine, I'll see you soon." He says.

"See you soon." I make sure he goes through his door before going in through mine.

-0_0-

After I walked through the door, three people are standing on the other side. They are obviously from the Capitol since they have piercings, odd tattoos, and are wearing the oddest collection of clothing. I then have to get undressed and lie on a table, naked as they clean me. They wash my hair and brush it out (I feel bad for them), they even go as far as doing what they call waxing. I've heard of it before, it's where they take wax and use it to rip out your hair or something like that. Some people do that in 2, I really don't see what's wrong with just shaving. Waxing hurts and they do a full body wax. When they're finally done I feel sore, as they have also scrubbed my body for every single speck of dirt. I showered this morning! There is no need to scrape off like 5 layers of skin. My face also feels quite sore, as they waxed my eyebrows too, I thought they looked fine before, but apparently they weren't Capitol status, but I will kill all of them if they try to dye my skin yellow or my eyebrows fuchsia. I haven't met my stylist yet though, apparently whoever he or she is they don't want to see me until I'm stripped raw of my skin and hair.

"Doesn't she look darling now, Clodia?" One lady of my prep team says. All three of them are girls.

"Yes, Servilla she looks amazing thanks to me trimming her hair." Another one- Clodia says.

"Don't forget I waxed her!" the third one puts on.

"Yes, yes, Antonia," Servilla says. "She looks amazing thanks to all three of us."

"She's ready to see Lorena," announces Clodia.

"Yes, I agree." Antonia says.

"Let's call her," Servilla says. The three of them dart out of the room, leaving me sitting up on the metal table, naked and alone.

I find my prep team rather annoying, the whole time they were working on making me 'perfect' they were talking all about Capitol gossip. Some girls in my training class in 2 loved to gossip, personally I think it's a waste of time. I feel awkward just sitting in here like this, very vulnerable. I look around the room; it had white walls and a white tiled floor with a drain in the middle. I await Lorena whom I assume is my stylist to make her appearance.

The door opens, a lady walks into the room. She actually looks pretty normal compared to the rest of the Capitol freaks I've seen. She has light brown hair, pale ski, and large hazel eyes. She is wearing large gold hoop earrings, tall gold heels, and a rather poofy blue dress, but other than that she looks perfectly normal. "I'm Lorena," she says holding out her hand.

"Clove," I take her hand.

"I'm your stylist," she says.

"I guessed that."

I see the sides of Lorena's mouth quirk upward.

"You're from District 2 and that's masonry correct?"

"Yes," for the parade we Tributes are dressed up as something to do with our Districts, once some idiot stylists actually dressed their Tributes up as houses.

"Good, good." Lorena says. "Here," she says handing me a fluffy white robe. "Put this on."

The robe is warm and it makes me feel slightly less vulnerable, though if she'd given me a knife I'd feel a lot better.

"Come with me," Lorena leads me to a side door, where 2 couches sit across from each other. She gestures for me to sit, so I do. Lorena sits then presses a button on her armrest. A table rises from the floor between us holding our lunch. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I was looking at a dish of food. The two plates hold the same thing, I believe it is squab. There is creamy gravy poured generously on it, along with some green beans. I begin to eat, holding the fork in my right hand and the knife in my left. It feels good to have a knife in my hand, even if it is one for eating not for throwing.

I'm about halfway done my squab (which is delicious) when I decide to start up a conversation.

"So Lorena, how many years have you been styling for the Hunger Games?"

"4," she tells me.

"What Districts?"

"Well, my first year was 7, 2nd was 3, my third was 3 again, and my fourth was 5 and this year I'm doing 2."

"Obviously," I say.

Lorena's lips quirk up again.

"So, for your parade outfit Alair, who is your District partner's stylist, and I have decided since your District is masonry to dress you up as Roman Gladiators."

"But why Roman?" I ask.

"Because Rome had amazing architecture so dressing you up as gladiators will make you look Roman, the greatest empire of all time. Is that ok with you?"

I don't really have a choice anyway, "sure."

-0_0-

After lunch, Lorena measures and sizes me up. Then she leaves me in the lunch room to be bored. About 2 hours later Lorena comes back in to the room, with several people carrying stuff following her.

15 minutes later I am dressed in a gold top. It is rather heavy, though I can stand it, I just think of it as training. There are little 'leaves' overlapping each other coming down from my neck, it is like really heavy decorated armor. (Which I suppose is what it's supposed to be) The top of it gets smaller around my waist then comes back out in something like cut strips of gold. I really don't know or care, if Rose or Jocelyn were here though, they could tell me all about the style detail. Thinking about them, I think about how much I miss them…. Ok time to push the thought of my family and friends out of my head before I start crying. Lorena is now putting a gold helmet on top of my head. Gods, where do they get all this gold? My helmet covers the top of my head and has large gold feathered wings that point behind me. The edge of the helmet had gold circles decorating the rim. I am wearing brown leather leggings and knee-high heeled boots, maybe now I won't look as short next to Cato. Looking in the mirror I smile, I look bold and intimidating, perfect to show the Capitol that I'm worth investing. I am wearing a minimal amount of makeup which I like, because I don't like makeup. Lorena walks me out to the hallway where we saw Fuchsia lady, luckily she's not there. Good, since her cheeriness was really annoying. I stand out there with Lorena for a good 5 minutes before Cato and his stylist, Alair comes out. Cato is wearing a similar outfit as me. Gold chest plate (doesn't curve at his waist, thank goodness, and it also is flat all the way down) with the leaves/feathers or whatever though they don't go up on his neck, on his head there is a band instead of a helmet, it is a band with gold circles around the rim, with golden fan/wings to match mine. There is a leather tied armband around his left bicep; it's pretty big since it fits around his overly large muscles and a cape draping behind his chest plate. Also he is not wearing leggings and heeled boots (thank goodness again) he looks roman all the way down unlike me, wearing the whole sandal/toga skirt thing.

I grin at him, "Nice skirt, Cat."

He grimaces, "1. I didn't pick the outfit, 2. It's a roman battle thing."

"Yeah uh-huh, it's a skirt."

"Oh, shut up." He playfully punches me in the arm.

"Looks like the elevator's ready for us." Lorena says.

Cato and I follow her and Alair to the elevator; we ride it all the way down to the bottom level of the Remake center, which is basically a giant stable. There are many pairs of tributes standing around, keeping to themselves. Glimmer and Marvel from 1 a basically spray painted silver, their District is Luxury, they are in tasteful tunics that are glittering with jewels. Their chariot is silver too. 3 have like gear hats on or something, yep ridiculous, their chariot has gears carved into it. Since District 3 is electronics it makes sense though. 4 is dressed in like blue Greek togas with water crowns on, their 4 is all about fishing. Their chariot is a blue green mix. 5 are all sparkly with like satellites on their heads (is everyone ridiculous looking here but Cato and I?), their district is power, and their chariot is shining like mirrors are on it. 6 has like yellowy gold outfits on and moons on their heads, this confuses me what do moons have to do with transportation? 7 has paper fans all over them, their district is lumber, but seriously fans? 8 is covered in blue and pink, with matching hats, 8 is textiles but they look horrible in that color combination. 8 don't look too happy about their outfits either. 9, I don't even understand how their outfits have anything to do with grain, just a bunch of silver dots on their shirts.10 are dressed like cowboys, since their District is livestock I understand this, they don't even look that bad in their outfits. Then there are 11. The female tribute from 11 is a small 12 year old girl; she looks so cute and sweet, wearing a blue dress and overalls. If there's one thing I know for sure here, it's that I don't want to be the one responsible for her death, how could I kill such innocence? The male from 11 is gigantic he has on a white shirt and overalls, both of them have like wheat halos. 11 is agriculture, they don't look bad in their outfits, though not as good as Cato and I. Then I look at 12, the girl there volunteered, I'm fairly sure that everyone was surprised at that. Both the male and female are wearing black almost scaled looking outfits. The girl's hair is up in braids all around her head. Coat mining is what 12 is for, so they're dressed in black, yeah, but I have a sense that their costume is meant for something else. Their chariot is black, matching their outfits. Lorena and Alair are standing by our chariot, which is gold with gladiators fighting carved into it.

"Clove, earth to Clove," I hear Cato say beside me. It snaps me from my thoughts.

"Yes?"

"I don't know, you were just standing there still and staring out, something wrong?"

"No, I just do that when I get lost in my thoughts." I explain.

"Ah, what were you thinking about? May I ask?"

"The other tributes, most of them look ridiculous, but look at 12."

Cato looks over at them, "they're wearing black."

"No, duh, but their outfit material seems like it's made for something special."

"Ok, so?"

"I was trying to figure out what it was."

"Oh."

"Ok guys, it's almost time to go out, remember, wave and smile at the crowd, they'll love it." Lorena says.

"Time to get in the chariot," Alair says.

I hear a noise, a loud one; both I and Cato turn our heads to the sound. Both tributes from 12 are laughing, I wonder what about.

Then I hear opening music begin to play. It's really loud, from being blasted around the Capitol. 1's chariot starts out, I hear the roar of the crowd as they appear, and 1 is always a favorite, yet so is 2. When Cato and I come out the crowd roars even louder, Ha take that 1 I think. Both Cato and I smile and wave to the Capitol citizens. They are throwing all types of flowers down on us, roses, lilies, daisies, etc.

Out of the corner of my eye while I'm waving I see something, I turn my head to see what it is. 12 are on fire.

"Cato!" I nudge his arm.

"Uh-huh?"

"12 are on fire."

"That's nice."

"No I'm not kidding, look."

Cato turns his head; I see his eyes bulge, "Whoa."

"That's what their outfits were for." I say.

"You seem to be good at noticing details, Clove, good job, I'm lucky to have you on my team for the Games." Cato tells me.

I can feel myself blushing, Cato turns his head away.

We both continue smiling and waving at the crowd, though we are both turned opposite ways. The entire crowd is screaming 12's names. "KATNISS! PEETA!" I look back and see that they are holding hands.

Cato and I exchange looks, the whole crowd is concentrating on 12, and this is not good for our chances to get sponsors. Our chariots begin to fill the loop of the City Circle. The horses on our chariot make a steep turn and I almost fall out of the back of the chariot. Cato grabs my arm though, "I got you," he says pulling me back up.

"Thank you," I smile at him.

Every window around the City Circle is open and people are hanging out of them, hoping to get a good view of this year's tributes. The chariots stop right in front of President Snow's mansion, the music ends with a flourish. President Snow, who is a small thin man with white hair (is that where he got his name?) gives us an official sounding welcome from the balcony that he stands on.

Looking up on the screens I see that 12 is getting about 20x more than their share of airtime. Cato notices it too, he's frowning. It's getting darker and everyone seems to have their eyes on 12's flickering costumes. The camera people have 12 on the screens the whole way into the Training Center. As soon as the doors close behind the last chariot Lorena, Alair and our prep teams crowd around us.

"That was great!" Lorena compliments us.

"No it wasn't," Cato says frowning. "The cameras and peoples' eyes were on 12 the whole time."

I can tell that he is upset by this. I put my hand on his shoulder, this time just for comfort. "It's ok, Cat, we'll show them up in training. That'll show the sponsors who they should put their money in with."

Cato is glaring in 12's direction, but when I put my hand on his shoulder he turns his head and looks at me, his expression notably softens. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Aren't I always?" I ask him jokingly.

Brutus, Ellen, and some other person I assume is Enobaria come up to us. "Cato, Clove," Brutus says, "this is Enobaria, your new mentor."

I've heard about Enobaria, she had her teeth filed because she won her games by ripping her opponent's throat out with her teeth. Now she has them filed so they can rip skins easy. Enobaria grins at me, showing her pointed teeth. "So I hear you ran Chelsey out of here."

"Yeah, I guess I did." I say, I'm not sure what to think of Enobaria yet, so I'm cautious.

Enobaria's grin widens, "I like this one."

"So do I, she seems promising," Brutus says.

"The boy does too," Enobaria adds. "This looks like a great year for 2."

I notice that Ellen is staring at Cato's bare biceps again. I feel a twisting feeling in my stomach and it's not disgust, its jealousy. Why would I be jealous of Ellen staring at Cato's biceps? We're a just friends and that's all I want, or is it?

**Sorry this Chapter is shorter (by a lot) than the last one, but I felt like this was a good place to end. Next time they're going to start training. Ooooo. So opinions guys, should I post a new chapter once a week or once a day? PM me questions, sneak peeks for the next chapter will be on my website, . there's a link in it in my bio. Review! They make my day when I see them. 3 you guys are part of what makes me like writing. If you tell your friends about it and they R&R I can promise a new chapter soon. Spread the word! Lol, Well, keep up the awesome reviews guys 3 **

**Until next time, -Bookfanic **


	3. Chapter 3: Training

**Hey guys, I'm just going to say that the only reason I'm posting a new chapter is because literally 2 minutes after I posted my last chapter someone reviewed it **

**Guest: Thank you, I enjoy writing a lot, and I love it that you like my writing so much **

**So this story has gotten 171 views so far! OMG! Love all my readers, please, R&R I love your feedback, even if it's bad. **

**BTW last time I did not just go around randomly writing 3 I didn't know that didn't do the carrot things so where it was supposed to have a heart there was just a 3**

**It's TRAINING DAY! **

**Clove's POV **

We ride the elevator to the second floor; each District gets the floor number that their District is. So we get the 2nd floor. There are two Avox that stand in front of the elevator, waiting for us. The female had black hair, green eyes, and freckles. She looks 18 or maybe 17. The boy had blonde hair and brown eyes, he looks about 16. Avox are people who disobey the Capitol or something, they get their tongues cut out so they can't speak then they serve the Capitol. Gross, I know.

"Why don't you 2 go and get cleaned up before dinner?" Ellen asks, she's still staring at Cato, I feel the need to punch her in the face, though I resist.

I turn to the Avox, "could you show us to our rooms please?" I ask.

They both look at me surprised, damn did I just say please? But they nod, turn around and walk. Cato and I follow them to two doors next to each other; the girl looks at me and points to the one in the left, while the boy points to the one on the right. I guess the left one's mine and the right Cato's. The Avox turn and leave. "So I guess I'll see you at breakfast." I say awkwardly.

"Yeah, see you then." We both very awkwardly walk into our rooms.

My room is massive there is a king-sized bed in the middle, with mahogany bed side tables, and silver lamps on the bed side tables. There is a huge floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the Capitol. I see a screen projector in front of the bed, and a glass remote sitting on the bed. Oh, I know what this window is for; I pick up the remote and put in a code. The window scene changes from an overlook of the capitol to the mountains where 2 is. I can't help but feel homesick looking at the scene; it feels as if I could just walk forward and be home. I don't change the scene though, I like looking at the mountains. I walk over to the closet; there is a glass panel next to the closet door. I click on the panel and pick out an outfit that I like, a blue velvet shirt with a black mesh back- like the red shirt I wore earlier- black pants and combat boots. So pretty much the same outfit as I wore before this but a blue shirt.

Walking into the bathroom I see a big shower and a giant bathtub. There is also a clean white toilet and a sink shaped like a star fish. The sink's handles and facet are gold. I undress and throw my gladiator outfit on my bed. I then walk to the bathroom and climb into the shower. The shower head is gold too. I press the buttons on the control panel for a hot shower that is scented with cloves. Hey, if I'm going to be named after a spice why not smell like it? Then I press another button and a foamy shampoo and soap come out, smelling strongly of clove and vanilla. I like that combination, I think it smells good, if someone else doesn't, well it's their problem not mine. The clove scented shower comes back on, cleansing the foam from my body. Then when I'm done with the hot water flowing over my body (which I always enjoy) I turn the shower off, a hot air blows on me from all directions, and then it turns off when I'm dry. Before I step out of the shower a mist- smelling of cloves and vanilla of course- comes into the shower area and moisturizes my skin, air-lotion, nice.

I step out of the shower freshly moisturized and dry. I pull on my clothes and walk back into my room. Cato is sitting on my bed, staring at the mountain scene. He doesn't even notice me walking rather loudly into the room. "Ever heard of knocking?" I ask.

He turns, "I did knock, but I heard you still in the shower so I decided to invite myself in."

"Well isn't that polite of you?" I say sarcastically.

"I like the scene you picked." Cato tells me. Duh, it's home why wouldn't he?

I look at the clock next to my bed; Ellen will probably kill us if we're late for dinner.

"C'mon, we have to get dinner, unless you're interested in starving yourself."

Cato glances back at the mountains; I see the same wistfulness on his face that was on mine when I first looked at the scene. "Ok," he gets up and walks over to me.

We find our way back to the dining hall, Ellen, Brutus, and Enobaria are waiting for us. "There you are," Enobaria says, "We were starting to think that you drowned in your showers."

"No, just someone here likes to take long ones." Cato is looking pointedly at me.

"So? I like hot showers there's nothing wrong with that." I say defensively.

Cato laughs and pulls out a chair for me. I sit in it. Cato takes the seat next to me.

The Avox come out with our dinner which is roast pig, though there are all types of food to eat along with it. I pile food on my plate, I'm used to eating a lot from the tiring training that I had daily at 2, Cato has a lot on his plate also. I eat slowly, unlike today at lunch, well no exactly slowly; I'm just not shoveling down the food. The Avox boy offers Cato and I a glass of wine, we both take one. It is one of the sweeter types of wine, the kind I like best. After a very filling dinner, the Avox bring out dessert. Dessert is a flaming cake, very impressive Capitol. We have flaming cake every now and then at home. You put alcohol on the cake, the fire burns the alcohol away and it tastes like regular cake.

After serving myself a large piece of cake and eating it, I excuse myself to my bedroom. Once I'm in my room, I imagine that I'm training at home. I throw a kick in the air and hit my opponent in the nose, and then I throw a few punches. My opponent stands up and throws a punch at me; I do a double flip backwards to avoid being hit by my imaginary foe. Unfortunately Cato is standing behind me so I flip into him, knocking us both over on the ground, and yet again I'm on top of him. I roll off him, "Is this becoming a tradition?" he asks me.

"Not my fault for the two times I was on top of you," I tell him.

"And it was my fault when I fell on top of you from the laundry chute?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"You could have done like a flip over me or something." I say sitting up.

"Yes, I can so do a flip from sliding down a chute that barely fits me at like 20 miles per hour." Cato says sarcastically.

"You never know until you try," I tell him playfully.

"Where am I going to find another old laundry chute?" He asks.

"I don't know, you figure it out," Cato is offering me his hand to help me stand up, I take it.

"So, who are you training with?"

"Um, Cheyenne, she's my Capitol training partner."

"Oh?" Cato is smiling.

"Yeah, she gets really nervous around other people besides me so she hides whenever other people come into the room." Wow I sound stupid, how does Cato make me able to be an idiot?

"Well, maybe you should try training with a less self-conscious training partner."

"Like who?" I ask him.

"Well, me obviously," Cato replies.

I look at him; I would totally make a fool of myself, Cato is bigger than me, and he's been trained the same as me. I wouldn't make It 5 seconds against him; hand-to-hand combat is not my thing.

"Um…"

"Scared to play without your knives?" Cato taunts me; he knows this will make me have to fight him.

"Ugh, fine, but I'm warning you, I suck." I grumble.

"Ok then, whoever can keep the other one down for 5 seconds, starting positions." Cato and I stand across from each other.

"On, 3," I say, "1…2…3!"

I aim a kick towards Cato's ribs; he blocks and grabs my foot, causing me to get off balance. What can I do? What can I do? I ask myself. I horrible idea pops into my head, I try it. I front-flip over Cato, making him let go of my foot. Ok, maybe it wasn't a horrible idea. Cato turns swiftly around, but I'm ready for him, I grab his elbow, and somehow manage to jumbo-flip him over my head. I guess it was just momentum. Cato slams into the ground on his back, his breath is knocked out of him. I sit on his chest and count to 5.

"I win!" I say happily.

Cato groans, "I thought you said you suck at this."

"When I play against Jocey or Rex I am. Guess you're just bad." I mock him.

Brutus, Enobaria, and Ellen come bursting in to my room. "What in the heavens is going on in here?" Ellen exclaims.

"We were practicing for the games," Cato says, I'm still perched on top of his hard muscled chest, I'm fairly sure a rock is softer than his chest.

Ellen frowns, "I thought I clearly told you, one of the rules is no fighting."

"But we weren't fighting." I say. "We were training."

"It's the same thing." Ellen huffs, she's probably jealous that I'm sitting on Cato's chest instead of her, even though she does look like she's 10 years older than him.

"No, it's not. Fighting is where you try and kill each other; we're training, which is practice for fighting." I explain simply.

Ellen frowns at me and opens her mouth to say something, but Enobaria beats her to it. "It's true," she tells Ellen. "Training isn't the same thing as fighting in 2, training is practice for fighting."

Ellen glares at me then stomps out of the room. "Well, that was…interesting." Cato says.

"Yup," I say.

"You two…." Brutus looks like he is about to laugh.

"What?" I demand.

"Nothing, it's nothing." He's still smiling.

"It's obviously not nothing." Cato says.

"Ok, well we came in here to make sure you two weren't killing each other, and since you aren't, bye!" Brutus says and bolts out of the room before we can ask him more questions.

"Anyway," Enobaria says, she's slightly smiling too. "Be up for breakfast at 7." She leaves.

"Um, Clove?"

""Yes?"

"Are you ever going to get off me?" Cato asks.

"Oh, right." I say, scrambling to get off him. "God Cato, I've sat on rocks softer than your stomach."

He grins, "Is that a compliment or insult?"

"Think of it as both." I say.

"So, what do you want to do now? Ellen would probably throw a fit if we trained again."

"All the more reason to do it then," I say.

Cato smiles, "You have a knack for annoying people you don't like, don't you?"

"Yep, let's train."

Cato and I train until 10, when Ellen comes into my bedroom and insists that we stop, or we'll keep the people from District 1 awake, as if. So we go and shower, then Cato comes back into my room and we continue watching past Hunger Games. I find it comfortable snuggling up against him. I know, I've known him for less than 70 hours but as I said before I feel a connection to Cato, I can't really identify what yet, but snuggling next to him feels…. Right. Cato puts him arm around me as we watch the 25th Hunger Games which is the first Quarter Quell. For the Quell they have people vote for who should go into the games. I can't imagine having Joce and Shawna voting for me to go into the games. At that time, no one had a majority of Victors, or trained for it yet, so even in 2 being a Tribute was bad luck.

At midnight we decide we should probably go to bed since we have training tomorrow and if we fall asleep during that it won't do the impression that we're going for. It's like the opposite actually, so Cato goes back to his room, I kind of want him to stay in my room, but I don't tell him that. Is this what it's like having a friendship with a guy? I wouldn't know I've never had a friend that is a boy. Just Shawna and Joce, before that I was a shrimpy nobody that just got picked on. Why do I constantly feel mad when Ellen gives Cato her flirty glances? I'm just being a protective friend, right?

-0_0-

I wake up at sunrise. I know this because the sun is rising over the scene in the mountains, 2 and the Capitol are in the same time frames. I decide to get up and shower. I do the same thing as yesterday's two showers. When I walk back into my bed room, there is a black outfit laid out on my bed. Well, not totally black, the shirt is black and made of a tight stretchy material. On it there is a V mesh on the back. I smile at it; I guess Lorena saw what I was wearing last night and liked it. There aren't any sleeves on the shirt, the mesh back though is good to cool me off and not get me too hot. Then she gives me jeans to wear, I also smile at those, I train most of the time with jeans anyway. Seeing as there aren't any shoes laid out for me, I pick out my own- a pair of simple black heeled boots. Heck, I don't want to look too short for the first out of three days of training.

After getting dressed, I do my hair, I do it simply yet fancy. It is pulled back out of my face so that no stray strands get in my way and then pulled back into a ponytail; I do this a lot at home when I am training. I walk out to the dining area once I'm ready. No one is up yet, though next to the table is a large buffet of food. I pick up a plate and grab 3 blueberry pancakes (of course I load syrup on them) and a glass of orange juice. I am on my second helping by the time Cato comes out. Cato is wearing a light blue T shirt and long black pants and boots. The only thing a like in our outfits is that we are both wearing boots, but they are very different types.

"Hey," I say.

"Hey," he's picking his food from the buffet. When Cato comes and sits down, he sits next to me. For breakfast Cato is having toast and eggs that are sunny side up.

"What time is it?" I ask after he eats about half his breakfast, Cato checks his watch.

"6:55."

"So B and E should be out in 5," I state.

"Mmmhmmm," Cato's mouth is full of toast and strawberry jam.

5 minutes later

"I see you two are already up," Enobaria says as she sits down at the table, on her plate are waffles.

Brutus sits down next to Enobaria and across from Cato; he has a large pile of chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. I almost laugh, but I keep it in. A big scarred guy like Brutus is eating chocolate chip pancakes.

"So any ideas or/and techniques for training today?" Enobaria asks, digging into her waffles.

"We plan to intimidate them, and show then that we are a force to reckon with." Cato says, wording what we said on the train.

"Also," I add. "We are going to look for worthy allies."

"Anything else?" Brutus asks.

I think for a moment. "We need to go to the survival stations as well as the fighting ones, learning to survive in the wilderness is just as important as knowing how to fight."

"Correct." Brutus and Enobaria are both smiling at me.

"This year's tributes are smart ones," Enobaria muses.

"Yes, this is going to be a game to remember, I can feel it." Brutus says.

-0_0-

Ellen walks us down to the elevator at 9:45. She got up around 9; I wonder what it would be like to have a leisurely life where you can wake up whenever you want. I'll probably never know, well until I become a Victor. Cato and I walk into the elevator; I press the training room button. "We shouldn't stick together," I tell him. "We should spread out, and learn as much as possible."

"Ok," Cato says, he can be a man of little words. Well, boy.

"So don't go following me around." I instruct.

"I wasn't planning on it."

"Good, try to go to training stations and survival stations maybe alternate or something."

"Ok, I'll start with training you start with survival?"

"Sure." I say, of course Cato is getting pumped up to show his skills with weapons. "Keep an eye on 12 and the male from 11, we need to see everyone's strengths and weaknesses and they seem to be our biggest problems. Also watch everyone and see who we want as allies."

"Yup."

The elevator comes to a ding. We step out into the training room and look around, all around the room there are training stations for just about everything that comes to mind. There is a place overlooking the room where the head game maker, Seneca Crane and the rest of the game makers sit, observing us.

Cato and I are the first ones here, I guess it's because we're eager. 1 is next, then 5, 6, 9, 10, 11 etc. 12 are the last to arrive. They are the only two who are dressed alike. I wonder if they're trying to intimidate the rest of us with their 'team' looking thing. If so, it's not working, just irritating Cato and I. The rest of us are in a circle, as soon as 12 joins us, the head trainer, Atala steps up and begins to explain the training schedule. Experts in each skill will remain at their stations. We will be free to travel form area to area as we choose, per our mentor's instructions (try and go everywhere was ours). Some of the stations teach survival skills, others training techniques. We are forbidden to engage in any combative exercise with another tribute- too late I trained with Cato last night. There are assistants on hand if we want to practice with a partner. (A/N this is almost exactly what the book says.) When Atala begins to read down the list of the stations I look around at the other tributes, they are no longer wearing ridiculous clothes so I get a good look at all of them. Almost all the guys are taller than me, and over half the girls are too. Though, I've been well fed and trained so I'm probably 100x more lethal than most of the Tributes here, aside from Cato.

12 looks plain and boring now, nothing flame-y about them. I'm fairly sure everyone was jealous of them last night, but now no one seems to even care about them (which they probably don't). I can see the girl from 12- Katniss- examining the tributes as I am, smart. She's thin, but I can tell that she is strong by just looking at her, and she's not underfed. She's frowning slightly in Cato's direction, I don't blame her; he's massive.

When Atala releases us, I am the only one from1, 2, and 4 that goes straight to a survival skills station. I go to the edible plants station first; the boy from three is here too. He has dark hair and intelligent looking eyes. The trainer there shows both of us how to start a fire by spinning a stick. Then she gives us a stick, a board, and some dry grass and tells us to try ourselves. While I'm spinning the stick I look up, I see that Cato is at the spears station. He has just speared a dummy through the heart from 15 yards. I snort; he's supposed to be showing off, that is easy.

"So… you're from two." The boy from 3 says. Before coming in, a trainer stuck a 2 sign to my left arm since my back wasn't suitable for it.

"Yes, and you're from 3," I reply. "It doesn't really make a difference."

"Yes," the boy says quietly, "It makes a huge difference."

I stare at him, "What does that mean?" I ask.

"It means, that coming in here you know how to throw a spear like that boy just did," he's talking about Cato, "shoot a bow," ha yeah right, "throw knives," ok yeah I can do that, "and use pretty much any weapon that is in the arena. Then from 3 all I know how to do is make things and rewire things."

"Did you just say rewire things?" I ask him.

"Yes, why?" he sounds surprised I bet he thought I'd be mad about his little speech I'm not though, he's telling the truth.

Rewire hmm… if he can rewire things maybe he can rewire a land mine…. "Can you rewire anything?" I ask out of curiosity.

"Mostly yeah," he says.

If he can rewire the land mines around our supplies we won't have to worry about guarding them. Wow, that is a genius plan. "Well, you have a skill 3, I think I may be able to use you on my team in the games."

The boy's eyes brighten. "Really?" he asks.

"Really," I smile, at that moment I am able to get a fire started with my stick.

-0_0-

I talk to the boy from 3 for a while, yes he would be a perfect addition if he can rewire the land mines, and I'll talk to Cato about it at lunch. For my second station I go to the swords area, not my strongest suit, but Cato didn't go to his immediately either and I am fairly good with a sword anyway. For his second station, Cato stuck with our deal; he went to the finding shelter station. I look around while the trainer explains to me, the boy from 1, and the girl from 10 about technique. I look around, the 12 are sticking together with their whole 'teamwork' thing, and they are at the knot tying station.

"Alright are you guys ready to try a sword?" the sword trainer asks.

"Yes," we all say.

There are 2 other people training with sword people already, so there is only 1 person left to train with, which means the 3 of us have to take turns. I decide I'll go first, the trainer hands me a sword, the edges of it have rubber on them so I can't actually kill anyone with it, but its weight is the same. I lunge at the trainer; I enjoy having the 1st move even if most of the time it's blocked. The trainer blocks me, another thing I'm good at? Gymnastics. I flip over the trainer and have my sword at his neck in an instant. He starts to laugh, "I surrender." He says, letting his sword clatter to the floor. The next up to fight is the girl from 10; I stand next to the boy from 1 while she trains.

"Nice job out there, I'm Marvel," Marvel holds out his hand.

"I know your name, I'm Clove, and uh thanks." I take his hand.

"So we're in an Alliance together," he says.

"So I hear."

The girl from 10 has just had to surrender so it's Marvel's turn up, I decide to leave the swords station, there's nothing there I can learn. The next station I go to is edible plants, at this station there is the girl from 8 already. Oh, I'm so going to get her in the arena, but for now I ignore her. For his next station, Cato goes to hand-to-hand combat. I watch him do the same thing I did to him last night, flip the trainer over, well except he doesn't sit on his chest, which would be weird. At edible plants, I learn that there is a berry called night lock that can kill you in like the 1st 10 seconds when you eat them or so. That might be useful in the Arena, if I can find any berries. Maybe I could feed them to the 'career' pack when it's getting closer to the end. There are many types of leaves and berries that grow in all types of environments. I'm fairly sure that I can get up food if we run out of food from the cornucopia. I look around, 12 is at the camouflage station, and the boy-Peeta is amazing with it. I watch him weave disguises from vines and leave, and paint mud, clay, and berry juices on his pale skin. The girl from 12- Katniss watches him in the same amount of amazement I am.

Once I'm done at edible plants, I go to the Ax station. Wielding an ax is a skill that I honed about a year ago. I was watching Johanna Mason's Games and I thought, well if I can wield a knife and sword how different is it from an ax? Very different actually. But I'm determined and I tried, really hard to get it right and I got it. I stand and imagine a group of enemies circling around me; I spin with the ax, duck an unseen invisible attack, cut someone's legs off. Etc. I watch Cato at the knot tying station. He's actually quite good at it, I'll go to that station next, and I want to test my skills with a rope.

At the not tying station Marvel goes with me to it. We learn a trap that you can put up on the ground, it's really hard to see in the forest, but if you land or walk by it a net with encircle you. I look around and see that the girl from 11- Rue is watching 12. I end up spending about twenty minutes at the knot tying station, learning different ways to tie rope to entrap people and animals. Soon it's lunch. All 24 of us walk off to a room that's near the training room gym. Food is arranged in carts all around the room. I wonder which food cart to go to when the boy from 3 comes up behind me and says, "What are you getting to eat?"

I nearly jump sky-high he scared me. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Oh, sorry, I just thought since you know, you're from 2 you'd be like fearless or something."

"No one is fearless." I inform him. "But you're lucky I didn't have a weapon or else right now you'd be on the floor dead."

"Ok, so am I in the Career group?" there's that word again.

"I don't know yet, I'll have to talk to the others about that now, so you shouldn't join us quite yet."

"Ok." He walks off.

I walk around the food carts and decide what to eat, when I'm serving myself some chicken with orange sauce on it someone behind me says, "Hey."

I am so startled I punch who is behind me- it's Cato.

"Owe," he says.

"What's with everyone sneaking up on me?!" I exclaim. "I don't like it."

"Everyone meaning me and that boy from 3," Cato clarifies.

"Exactly," I say.

"What was he doing anyway?"

"He wanted to know what I was going to have to eat."

"What is he like stalking you or something?" Cato asks.

"No, I was talking to him at the fire station," I tell him, lowering my voice I say, "I want him to join the Alliance."

"Why?" Cato asks, clearly surprised.

"Because he is good with electronics and can rewire things."

"So what?"

Oh my god, Cato you can be so slow. "He could rewire the landmines that are around the tribute platforms around our supplies."

"Oh, but then how will we get to the supplies?" Cato asks.

"We can have special unmarked pathway around the supplies so only we can get to them, anyone else who tries it will be blown to bits."

Cato grins, "I like that idea. Then we can just kill 3 after he rewires the landmines."

"No," I say abruptly.

"Why not?"

"Because then we will just be taking a favor from someone and killing them, I don't like it."

"Since when are you a fair person Clove?" Cato complains.

"Since I feel sympathy for people in here, 23 of us are dead."

"Are you even going to be able to kill anyone then?" Cato asks.

"Of course," I tell him. "I want to live just as much as anyone in here, I'm just saying that you do realize that in less than a month that everyone in here but 1 is going to be dead."

"Yes, I realize that," Cato says, "and I feel bad about that too, but we can't do that in the Arena, or else we'll be the first ones dead."

"I know," I say, "But I don't want to go back on any deals ok?"

"Ok," Cato agrees. We sit down at the table where 1 and 4 are already.

"Hey," Glimmer comes up and sits really, really close to Cato on the other side of me. She's rubbing up against him; I want to punch her in the face so badly.

I can feel Cato tense next to me, "Glimmer this is Clove, Clove, Glimmer."

Sitting across the table Marvel coughs, I look at him, "What not going to introduce me?" he asks.

"Marvel, Cato, Cato, Marvel, happy?"

He shrugs, "Whatever."

Cato turns to me, "And this is Sierra," the girl from 4, "and Marino," the boy from 4.

Sierra has dark hair and tan skin, Marino has curly brown hair and freckles.

I give them a slight smile, "Clove." Then I dig into my lunch.

After I take my first bite though, Cato interrupts me, "Clove."

"Mmmhmm?" my mouth is stuffed with chicken.

"Isn't there something you'd like to propose to the group?" Cato asks me.

"Oh, yeah," I say. "The boy from 3 is in the Alliance."

That starts up an argument immediately.

"What? No way!" Marvel exclaims.

"I'm with Marvel on this," Glimmer agrees, "We can't just let anyone in the Alliance."

"The boy from 3 isn't just anyone," I argue back. "It's one person."

"Yeah, but there's no reason to let him in anyway," Sierra adds.

"Yes there is," I cut in. "If we let him in, he can rewire the landmines around our supplies, so no one can steal them."

"Yeah but then how are we going to get it?" Glimmer asks. I roll my eyes, now I see why she's a blonde; she's even more stupid than Cato. (Who actually isn't stupid.)

"We create a secret way to get to the pile that no one else knows, so we can get to the food, easy but anyone who tries to steal is blown to pieces." Good, Cato's on my side.

"I still don't think we should do it," Glimmer says, "I think something's messed up in your brain, Clove."

"Oh yeah? Is that a challenge, Glimmer? Because I could beat you any day," I inform her.

Glimmer narrows her eyes at me.

"Any weapon, your choice," I say generously.

"Alright, alright," Marvel cuts in. "3 can be in the Alliance."

"Good." I say stiffly.

We finish the rest of our lunch in silence.

Once we're back in the training room, I go to the spears, one because it is my turn to be at a fighting station, and two because Glimmer is throwing spears, and sucking at it. She keeps missing the vital organs and hitting the dummies leg. Before Glimmer can pick up the next spear on the table, I grab it. "Here," I say, "let me show you how to do it." I step back so I'm about 30 feet away from the dummy. I aim at the dummy's heart, and throw the spear; it lands right in the heart. I smirk at Glimmer, she looks enraged, and then she stalks off to join Marvel at the swords station.

I stay at the spears station for a couple more minutes, and then I go to the camouflage station. I try with the mud, vines, and berry juices. After a while, I get the hang of it, though I'm certainly not as good as 12. I match my arm; the trainer applauds me and tells me it looks amazing. It doesn't look perfect, but I'm pretty proud of how far I got. For the next station I decide to show off, I go to knives. The knife station here is like the one in 2, but instead of the dummies moving, that all stand in-front of each other, then when one lights up I throw a knife at it. Every single time I hit the lit up dummy in the heart, I can feel people's eyes on me. I look around after I'm done everyone is watching me. 1 and 4 are looking at me enviously, and the rest have a mixture of fear and jealousy on their faces. Good, I've scared them.

I go back to the edible plants and berries station to make sure that I remember everything about things that are poisonous and things that are edible. I make sure to pay close attention, since this could mean life or death for me. There is a climbing net that steeps upwards. I watch Peeta climb it, when he's about half way up, it spins upside down and he falls. I am standing with Cato, Glimmer, and Marvel, so I smirk. But the rest of my body is telling me to go and help him up. But his district partner, Katniss, does that for me. Unlike Cato, I haven't taken immediate dislike for 12 because they out shown us at the parade, they didn't even get a choice in what they were wearing. I feel bad for Peeta, Cato, Glimmer and Marvel are all laughing at him. Just because we are all trained for this, doesn't mean we have to make fun of everyone else, it doesn't feel right. Katniss whispers something in Peeta's ear; I can't hear what it is. Peeta looks he's objecting, but Katniss seems to cut him off. Peeta nods, he walks over to the weights and carries the biggest one- probably like 120 pounds- at the spear rack, knocking spears off. I can tell that Cato and 1 are impressed since they begin to walk away.

I decide that I want to try climbing the net. Just like Peeta, when I reach around the middle, the net flips over, hanging me upside down, but unlike Peeta, I don't let go, I hold on and keep climbing. The key is to not look down, I'm not scared of heights, but I know if I look down, the floor will look intimidating and not help me with my grip. I keep climbing steadily upwards. When I reach the top of the net which is way above the training room floor I flip the net back to the right side up, and climb onto the platform, where a trainer is standing at the top.

"Congratulations, you're the first one to make it to the top," The trainer says. Good I think. "Now there is a ladder over there for you to climb back down to the ground." Behind her a latter leads the way back down, who needs ladders though? As I jump off the platform I hear the trainer say "No don't-!" then I'm off.

Just to show off a little more at the other tributes I spin 3 times in the air, then land cleanly and easily on my feet. All the trainers' eyes are on my now, with the tributes. This is what I want; I want to make an impression. Cato is standing in front of me, "You're doing much better at showing off than me," he says.

I snort, "Yeah right," I saw him with the sword he was doing perfectly fine and at the hand-to-hand combat station… Cato was doing a great job at intimidating the rest of the tributes.

I think my stunt of jumping off the platform, made them think that today was over because Atala now says, "Ok, today's training is over."

I walk with Cato to the elevator. We get into the same elevator as 6. I'm fairly sure that we successfully scared them, because both tributes are cowering in the corner, the farthest they can get away from us. When we arrive at our floor, we step out of the elevator, "you did great today." I tell Cato.

"Thanks," he says. "You did too." A strand of my hair falls into my face, Cato takes it and brushes it behind me ear. He steps closer to me. We're so close I can feel the heat of his body and his steady heartbeat. Cato leans down (again reminding me of my shortness) and then to my surprise kisses me. On the lips.

**Ooo what do you think is going to happen next? Lol I know, but you'll just have to wait to find out. Is she going to be mad? Or are they going to date? What will happen?! Sneak Peak on my website. . (link in my bio). Please R&R I'll love you so much if you did, reviews just make it all the more worthwhile to post. I'll post another chapter when I get some more reviews. :)**

**Until whenever I post another chapter**

**~Bookfanic~**


	4. Chapter 4: Private Sessions

**Feel free to R&R I love reading your guys' feedback. Also I know what R&R means (Read and Review right? Lol) and A/H means all human right? But what do other things mean like OOC and A/C and OC means own characters…. Right? I'm clueless lol, OMG here's the next chapter, enjoy ;) got 3 new reviews today, so thanks guys! And I love all you followers and favorite-ers too! You guys are awesome. **

**Cato's POV **

I'm kissed her. I kissed Clove on the lips. Sure it was only a quick peck, but I kissed her. I'm not really sure what came over me, I guess it was just we were so close and I don't know! I know I like her, but how does she feel about me? I've probably just ruined our whole friendship with Clove, just because of one stupid impulse. I kept my eye on Clove today; she excelled at every station she was at. When I saw her talking to the boy from 3 at lunch today, I felt jealousy well up and I felt like I might explode. Then there's Glimmer, who's always rubbing up against me. I get the vibe from her that she likes me. But I don't like her. I like Clove, no I might love Clove. I love her dark brown hair, her green eyes, and her beautiful freckles. I love how short she is and I love it when she steps close to me and I can smell clove and vanilla off her. I love her voice and the way she looks when she feels triumphant. I love everything about Clove. To me she seems like the most beautiful girl in the world. I am standing in the shower and letting the hot soapy water waterfall over me, tumbling down my back. I jump out of the shower and put on a simple dark T shirt, pants, and boots.

It's around dinner time so I walk out to the dining room, Clove is sitting next to Lorena, and so the only free seat for me is next to Ellen. Yep, I'm sure that Clove must hate me. I try to catch Clove's eye all dinner, but she is studiously ignoring me. After dinner, Clove excuses herself early and leaves. I watch her leave. I feel strangely lonely with me not talking to her for the last hour or so, if she never talks to me again I will feel like a piece of me is lost. I excuse myself and go to follow her.

The door to Clove's room is closed, so I knock on it. Clove opens the door about 3 seconds later. "Hey, I'm sorry about earlier. Can we just forget it ever happened?" I ask.

"No," Clove says, "we can't." I feel my heart sink. Then something surprising happens, Clove grabs me by the front of my shirt, pulls me down, and kisses me. I'm surprised, but obviously I kiss her back.

"Wait, what?" I ask.

"Cato, you are such an idiot," Clove says. "I don't want to forget what happened earlier. I like you, Cat, I really like you."

"Uh, I like you too." Wow I'm so romantic.

Clove laughs, it sounds beautiful. "Well that's good," she says. "Otherwise it would be awkward when I did this." She pulls me into another kiss.

We are still standing in the doorway to Clove's room. I don't even hear Ellen coming up behind us until she says, "Excuse me." Ugh, I reluctantly stop kissing Clove and stand up, Clove steps forward to stand beside me.

"Yes?" Clove asks.

"Well I am here because-"

"Yeah, well we don't really care," Clove says, Ellen gapes at her, I hold back a laugh. Ellen's face is priceless. "As you can tell we were in the middle of something important that you interrupted," Clove continues. "So goodbye!" Clove takes my wrist, pulls me into the room and slams the door in a shocked Ellen's face.

As soon as the door closes, Clove pulls me into another kiss. We slowly walk over to her bed and sit on the side of it. Intensely making out, I might add. "I don't understand." I manage to get out after a while.

"What don't you understand?" Clove asks me.

"Well, I thought you were going to end our friendship and now we are making out and offending Capitol citizens. " Clove laughs at that part. "So are we like… I don't know, dating now?"

"Yeah, I guess we are," Clove laughs a little.

I feel my heart skip a beat when she says it.

-0_0-

Clove falls asleep in my arms tonight. We stayed up until like 4 in the morning talking about ourselves. I know so much more about Clove now like her favorite color is royal blue, her favorite animals are tigers, and when she wants to be alone back in 2 she goes for a walk and sits on a bench at the small park we have. Etc. I like finding out more about Clove, but she falls asleep around 4, her head is on my chest and my arm is around her back. We both agreed to keep our dating secret, it will be a weakness in the Arena, if the other tributes figure out that our greatest weakness is each other they'll use it against us. Of course, it's probably impossible to keep our relationship from Lorena, Alair, Enobaria, Brutus, and Ellen. But who really cares about them anyway?

Clove is so small; she's curled up in a ball against my chest with her head resting on the upperpart. Clove doesn't snore, I can her and feel her relaxed breathing, in out in out. I rest my chin on the top of her head and look out in the darkness of her room. She seems to fall asleep easier than me. I hold Clove tight against me; as if I'm afraid someone will tear her away from me. We only have 5 free days left until the games begin, and we are fighting for our lives. I now know my choice for sure; I will do my best to keep Clove alive. She'll be mad at me if I sacrifice myself for her, but now that we're together I don't think that I could ever stand leaving her.

-0_0-

I wake up to see sun streaming in through the mountain-view-window thing, I feel something missing, Clove isn't asleep anymore. But since I can hear the shower on I can safely assume she's showering. She goes to sleep easier and wakes up at sunrise. I wish that I a timer in my head like that. Today is day 2 of training. When Clove comes from the bathroom she's wearing her 'training' gear. I mean it is good for training and it's what she's used to, but I think Lorena is also going for hot. Clove is wearing an emerald green shirt; it really brings out her eyes, black leggings and combat boots. Her hair is up in the same way it was yesterday a complex ponytail-type-thingy. She does wear her hair up in training a lot at home. "You're finally up," Clove says. "I was beginning to think you were dead."

"Nope," I yawn, "Just a heavy sleeper."

Clove rolls her eyes and jumps onto the bed. "Since your training clothes didn't get dropped off in here I'm assuming they're in your room." She informs me.

"Ugh can't I stay in here for like 5 more minutes?" I complain.

"Nope," Clove smirks. "You'll just keep saying that besides I'M going out to get breakfast."

She pushes me off the bed. I land on my back on the soft-carpeted floor. I do a thumbs up, "Yep, I can defiantly sleep down here."

Clove's face appears over me, "Don't you have something you have to do, Cat?"

"Nope, I'm all yours," I pull her down off the bed, so she's lying on the floor next to me.

Clove laughs, "Well, I'm going out to breakfast before Brutus and Enobaria get there, so see ya later, lazy Cat." With that she jumps up and walks out the room.

Did she just call me lazy?

-0_0-

After getting a hot shower I pull on the clothes Alair chose for me. I'm wearing a shirt that is a dark purple color, jeans, and combat boots (for men). Back in 2 combat boots were popular for training. I walk out to the dining room, Clove is sitting, well leaning back in her chair, her arms crossed. She's sitting across from Brutus and Enobaria and talking to them about something. She looks up as I walk by and I lean down and kiss her. When I look up Brutus and Enobaria are smiling.

"What?" I demand.

"So, you two are finally together?" Brutus asks.

"What do you mean finally?" I ask.

"Well, it was pretty obvious that you two both really liked each other, even if you didn't realize it." Enobaria explains.

Clove grins at me, "They've been bugging me about it for the last 30 minutes."

Her smile is so beautiful.

I grab a plate of French toast and add powdered sugar and syrup to it. Then I take a seat next to Clove. Turning to my mentors I say, "So, what are we doing today?"

-0_0-

The next two days pass by in a blur, training with weapons, learning about survival techniques. Training with weapons, learning survival techniques. Training with weapons, learning survival techniques. Training with weapons, learning survival techniques. It's all the same, but whatever helps to keep Clove and I alive. Meanwhile, Clove and my relationship is amazing and getting better by the day. We're both happy as far as I can tell. I've never felt more happy before, even though I'm about to go to the games that will probably be my death, I'm happy. I'm happy because I'm with Clove. Clove makes me really happy. Now I'm going to stop saying happy because I sound like an idiot.

I've slept in Clove's room more than my own. I'm fine with this, and so it seems, is she. We are sitting next to each other on stools in a room outside the training room. We are waiting to be called in for our private sessions; we both know the importance of this. I've seen the Game Makers talking to our trainers and watching us over the last three days, but that is only half of our training scores. The other half is now, our private sessions. We each get about 15 minutes alone in the training room to show off our skills. The best strategy is to use our strongest suit in the training room, for me, that's the sword. I don't know what Clove is going to do, when I asked her she just waved the question away, I have a feeling she has something special planned. It probably has something to do with knives, since though she's good at pretty much everything, knives are her strongest suit.

I yearn to talk to Clove; right now we are all sitting in an awkward silence. But if I talk to her, it will give away that we are close well at least close-ish. In the Arena, showing emotion or closeness will be our downfall. First Marvel is called in, then Glimmer. I know I'm next.

"Cato," a voice says echoing around the silent room.

I stand up, before I can leave, Clove grabs my wrist, "Good luck." She says quietly.

I smile slightly at her and walk into the training room. The only people in here are trainers and the Game Makers watching me. I walk over to the swords and pick the one that best suits me.

5 trainers walk over to me, all of them carrying swords. The first one attacks me around the knees, I jump the blade, and kick the same trainer in the chest, he falls backwards, and luckily we're training on a mat. I flip backwards in the air, over the other trainers. (Clove's not the only one who can do gymnastics she's just way better than me at them.) I use my elbow to knock one of the trainers in the ear, I hear a crack, ouch, and I know that I must have broken something… Oops? The trainer falls over, clutching her ear, hey! It was accidental! Anyway 2 trainers down, 3 to go. One trainer, aims to probably cute me across the chest, I duck under the sword and kick the trainer over. I take the flat of my sword and knock one in the head, causing him to crumple immediately to the ground. The last trainer tries to hit me in the side with their sword; I block and kick their legs out from under him. When he lands on his back on the floor, I step with one foot on his chest and put the tip of my sword under his chin.

The Game Makers are all clapping. "Thank you, Cato." Seneca Crane says. "You may leave now."

I nod my head, and drop my sword, leaving 5 trainers on the ground behind me.

-0_0-

**Clove's POV**

About 12 minutes after Cato is called in, I hear my name, "Clove." A voice says. I stand up and look around the room, most of the Tributes are staring at the wall or looking down, but the boy from 3 is looking at me. He smiles at me as I walk towards the door. Ugh gross.

I walk into the training room, it looks so different empty. For my private session I've decided to do something a little… different. Well if I'm going to show off anytime now is the best time. So I walk over to the knife section and pick out 4 good knives. Then I stuff them in my boots. I also grab a rock from the sling station. Being at this station makes me smile, I saw Rue and she was really good with a sling. I begin to climb the climbing net, it flips over when I'm about ¾ of a way up, I feel my heartbeat stop for a moment, but I keep climbing up. I reach the top about a minute or two later. I swing myself from the net to the platform with ease, I look over the edge, and I'm at a higher level than the Game Makers. I can clearly see the knife throwing people things to my left. I take the rock and throw it at the knife station. It hits the panel I was aiming for, making the station turn on, and also making a bit of a loud noise. Now comes the show-off part. I jump from the platform like I did on the first day of training. I feel the rush of the air, and my heart beat going faster, I love it. I take the four knives from my boots, throwing them at the lit up dummies as I fall. I hit every single one (out of the four she was aiming for) of the lit up dummies in the heart, and before I splat on the ground; I flip and land perfectly on my feet. Then I bow.

Looking up, I see the Game Makers are staring at me in amazement; I am pretty amazing aren't I? "Thank you, Clove," Seneca says. "You may go now."

I smile as I walk from the room; I think I did pretty well.

-0_0-

**Cato's POV**

The elevator dings open and Clove walks through confidently, looking pleased with herself. "Hey," I stand up from my spot on the couch, "What happened?"

"Oh," she says casually, "I just jumped off the climbing platform and hit four lit up dummies in the heart while I was in free-fall."

"I- wow," I say, I'm impressed.

"Yeah," Clove smiles a little, "the Game Makers seemed to think the same thing. So what happened with you?"

"Oh," I say mimicking her casual voice, "I just beat 5 of their best swords men."

"Cato!" She almost squeals, "That's amazing." Clove gets up on her tip-toes and kisses me.

"Mmm," I say, "I should beat swords people more often."

She stops kissing me, "Oh shut up."

"I take back everything I said.

"Too late, Cat," she smiles and begins to walk down the hallway.

"Wait, where are you going?" I ask her.

Clove turns on her heel, "To take a shower," she smiles. "No, you cannot join me."

"Damn it, Clove," I smile. "You seem to be able to read my mind."

"I know, I have secret powers, mind reading is one of them." She smiles.

"What are your other powers?" I ask.

Clove winks at me, covering her beautiful left green eye for a split-second. "You'll just have to find that out for yourself." With that she turns the corner and walks into her room, I hear the door close behind her.

I smile, everything about Clove is perfect.

-0_0-

After dinner, Lorena, Alair, Ellen, Brutus, Enobaria, Clove and I gather on the couch to see the rankings. We turn on the projector screen and turn off the lights; Caesar Flickerman appears on the screen, he has blue hair and blue eye brows, I can't help but wonder how old he is, he's in like every Hunger Games but he always looks the same, except his hair. This year it is blue, he is sitting next to Claudius Templesmith, who has a weird head. "Now what you're all waiting for," Caesar says smiling, "This year's training scores for the 74th Annual Hunger Games!" I can hear the cheering from the crowd.

"Now here is our first Tribute, his name is Marvel from District 1," Marvel's face appears on the screen. "And his score is… a 9!" Caesar smiles, "and his odds of winning are…5-1!" (A/N I know this isn't how it is in the book or the movie but I wanted to put it in my fanfic so there.) "Now the female tribute from District 1 is named Glimmer," Glimmer's face appears on the screen behind Caesar. "Her score is… an 8!" An eight flashes around Glimmer's face. "Her odds of winning are….7-1." The crowd cheers, Caesar smiles and waits for them to quiet down. "The male from 2 is named Cato, and his score is…" My heart clenches, and Clove squeezes my hand and gives me a reassuring smile. "10!" Enobaria, Brutus, Lorena, and Alair cheer, Clove beside me does too. "His odds of winning are 3-1, congratulations, Cato." The crowd cheers and whoops. "And the female from 2 is Clove and her score is…." Clove grips my hand so hard I start to stop losing feeling in it. "10." Clove's grip noticeably relaxes. "Her odds of winning are 5-1."

I smile at Clove, "You did amazing."

She smiles back, "I know, so did you." She kisses me on the cheek.

"…and his odds of winning are 30-1." I snicker, Caesar got that right, 3 has no chance of winning, I'll make sure of that. "The female from 3…"

Clove smiles at me, "We'll make a terrific team, Cat."

I smirk, "The best."

She kisses me on the lips this time her lips are soft and seem to almost brush against mine like a barely noticeable morning breeze. It makes me yearn for more. I have my arm around Clove and she is cuddled up against me, her feet up on the couch. Clove is watching the projector; she's probably looking for various threats. She has a good memory ability and a smart brain, I'm extremely lucky to have her on my team and unlucky at the same time. After the red-head girl from 5 gets a 5 and a 20-1 chance Clove mutters something. "What?" I ask Clove.

"I don't like her," Clove says.

"But she got a really low score and ranking," I say, confused.

"Yes," says Clove, "but I've watched her, she's smart, Cat. Really smart."

Anyone Clove considers really smart is like 90x smarter than me, this isn't good.

"Thresh…. 9…11-1."

"I don't like him," I grumble.

Clove laughs, "Why not?"

"Because we invited him to be in the Alliance and he totally ignored us." I'm outraged no one is allowed to turn us down when we personally invite them.

Clove laughs again and kisses me, "Calm down, kitty. Not everyone can make smart decisions. It'll be his fault when we kill him." This makes me feel better.

"And look at that," Clove smiles. "Rue got a 7."

Clove is awfully fond of the girl from 11. I don't know why, but if Clove likes her, so do I.

"….has an 8."

"How did he get that?" I want to know.

"He probably threw weights around; you saw him and the spear thing."

"Oh," I say.

"Or he painted himself into a tree," Clove says thoughtfully.

"Huh," the male from 12 was good with the paints.

"Katniss Everdeen … 11!"

I feel anger boiling in me, how did she, a girl from District 12 of all places outrank me?

"Ow, Cat, you're hurting me." I realize that I was squeezing Clove's hand with all my strength.

"I'm sorry it's just-"

"No, I get it, she beat us in the parade and now she's beat us in ranking, we'll get her in the Games. We can, we'll make it so she regrets ever living," Clove is now giving my hand a squeeze, she raises her eye brows at me, "ok?"

"We'll get her?" my mind is still blurred from anger.

Clove smiles, "We'll get her," she confirms.

**Short chapter but this is where I felt like it should end :D Please don't kill me for it. Don't forget to review! I love to read them! 3 So See ya next time- Bookfanic **

**BTW sneak peek on my website .com check it out, also follow my IG bookfanic the link for the website is in my bio, PM me any questions or something IDK love you guys. Oh yeah guess what?! Since tomorrow is Christmas? I'll for sure post another chapter, but if I get at least 3 more reviews today, I'll post 2 chapters tomorrow, k? **


	5. Chapter 5: Interviews

**Hello, it's interview time! Merry Christmas to all my awesome reviewers, followers, favorite-ers and viewers! Please review my story, the feedback is really helpful. **

**I don't own any of these characters they belong to Suzzanne Collins blah blah blah…**

**Cato's POV**

"Your interviews are tomorrow," Brutus says. "So we need to find some type of personality for you two." He's pointing at Clove and I.

"Why not just be ourselves?" I ask.

Brutus, and Enobaria chuckle, even Clove smiles a little.

"What?" I ask apparently I'm the stupid one here.

"Well, you need to give your sponsors some reason to give you money, especially since 12 is showing you two up." Enobaria says, ouch.

I tense, it's a soft subject for me, Clove pats me on the arm. She probably does it to make sure that I don't break something or kill anyone.

"Yeah, we noticed, no need to point it out." Clove says defensively, for my sake more than hers. "Ok, ok, so personality," Brutus says. "Cato, with your stature and build you could easily go for cocky."

"Or he could just as easily go for an ego-tastic maniac," Clove says helpfully. "He fooled me for years."

"Wow," I say, "Thank you Clove that was very helpful."

Clove looks up at me and gives me an innocent smile, "I know."

"Alright, alright, now is not the time to be flirting." Enobaria interrupts our 'flirting', "So Cato try for cocky. Brutus will question you and you try to answer with all the confidence that you will win these games, ok?"

"Sure," I shrug.

"So Cato, how are you feeling about the games?" Brutus asks he's filling in for Caesar.

"I'm feeling great at them," I say in an I-do-this-everyday voice. "There's no one who can stop me from winning this year." Clove laughs quietly, I frown at her.

"And how do you feel about your competitors?"

"Easy," I say, "this year is going to be the quickest Games yet."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I'm going to win within a matter of days," I say confidently. "With my skill, no one will stand in my way." Clove mutters something, it sounds like yeah right. "Not helping Clove." I mutter to her.

"And what," Brutus says, "is your skill?"

"What isn't?" I laugh. "I can wield a sword, throw a spear, throw knives better than anyone I know," Clove snickers, I know, I just took her trademark, "I can use any weapon that I can get my hands on, I can even kill someone without a weapon."

"Good, good, that angle will work perfectly for you," Enobaria says. "Just answer Caesars questions in the same way. Now you," she turns to Clove. "You're smaller than Cato."

Clove laughs, "That's an understatement."

Enobaria ignores her comment, "and going for the same angle as Cato probably won't work for you, but you did get the same score as him."

"And?" Clove looks amused.

"So what angle should we show you from? Sly? Smart? Cunning? Quiet? Comedic? Witty? Aloof? Charming? Cute? Girly?"

Clove interrupts, "Hold up, there's no way I'm doing cute or girly."

It's my turn to laugh, "Why not? It fits your personality perfectly."

Clove punches me none too lightly in the arm.

"How about, confident and likeable?" Clove asks.

"Sure, we can try that." Enobaria says shrugging. "So Clove, how do you like it in the Capitol so far?"

"Oh, I simply love it here." Clove says, "Everyone here is so kind and generous. Not to mention the beautiful clothing here, I simply adore it, when I win this year, I'll be sure to check out the latest fashion trends here and buy like everything." Haha, yeah right, if she did she'd probably burn it all.

"That's sweet; do you feel like you are prepared for the Games?"

"Oh, certainly, the trainers here have helped me out a lot, I'm very grateful for that."

"Alright, this isn't likeable this is humble, we do not want you to be humble." Brutus cuts in.

"Maybe try being confident and smart?" Enobaria says.

"Sure," Clove shrugs.

"So Clove, how are you feeling about this year's games?" Brutus asks.

"I'm feeling like there's no plausible way I wouldn't win, I mean look at the other tributes do any of them look like competition?" Ouch.

"Who do you think will be your biggest competition?"

"That's a hard one, I believe it would be Cato, my district partner, I mean, have you seen him?"

I smile.

"But you said this year's tributes were easy, do you see Cato as a threat?"

Clove smirks, "No, not at all, but he would be my biggest completion, but I can take him, easy."

I cough, "_Excuse me_?"

All three of them ignore me.

"That was great, Clove, you just do that in your interview and you'll do great." Enobaria congratulates Clove. "Next up, walking lessons with Ellen for you Clove," Enobaria scrunches up her nose, "be prepared for the long day ahead of you."

-o_o-

Ellen has Clove put on like 20 inch heels, they look ridiculous. Clove is frowning as she wobbles over to me. "Look at you," I smile. "You're almost as tall as me."

"Oh, shut up before I decide to punch out your teeth." Clove was _not _happy when Ellen told her to put on the heels.

I've decided to watch Clove's 'walking lessons' for my entertainment. "Ok," says Ellen in her happy voice, "Now go put this on." She is holding a bright pink dress out for Clove to wear.

Clove looks at the dress as if it was the devil himself, "There is _no _way in hell I'm wearing that, that _thing_."

Ellen glares at Clove and Clove glares straight back. If Clove glared at me like that I would go and hide in a corner for a few days. "Oh, come on," Ellen sounds exasperated. "It's the latest fashion."

"No way, I'd rather be married to Satan than wear that." Clove shivers at the thought of wearing the dress.

"Put. The. Damn. Dress. On." Ellen says.

"No," Clove folds her arms. "I'm already wearing your outlandish heels, I will _not _put on that."

"Fine then you can wear my hair dress."

"Hair dress?" Clove asks.

"It's made from hair," Ellen says happily, "I would wear it but it's too small on me." Gross, Clove looks like she might vomit.

"Fine I'll put on the stupid dress," Clove yanks the pink blob from Ellen's grasp, and wobbles off to a bathroom around the corner.

When Clove returns, I have to fight the urge to puke and break down laughing at the same time. She's wearing a very short pink dress with a pink train and with shapes coming out at all angles. Clove's lips are as thin as they can possibly go, and she gives me a look that says, 'if you make one noise I swear I will kill you'. I don't laugh.

"Alright, I have your thing on," Clove says. "Now what?"

"Walk to that cabinet and back." Ellen says, Clove walks towards the cabinet slowly and wobbly. "No, no, you're doing it all wrong!" Ellen shrieks.

Clove glares, "then how should I do it?"

"Like this," Ellen walks with her hands out at her sides and with prissy little steps.

"No, there is no freaking way that I'm walking like that, especially on TV."

"Yes, there is a freaking way," Ellen responds, "because you _are_ going to."

"No, I'm not." Clove shakes her head, I understand where she is coming from, everyone in 2 would be on the ground laughing if they saw that, and everyone would be able to go back and watch her do it.

"Yes, you are."

"No way in hell."

"Do it!" Ellen screeches.

"NO!" Clove exclaims.

"I don't even know how you are considered a female," Ellen huffs, "you walk like a man and you look like one."

"You know what?" Clove sounds pissed. "Screw you, and screw your stupid clothes." Clove tears the heels off and throws them at the wall, the heels stick into it, so there are two silver shoes sticking out of the wall, which makes it look like someone was trying to walk up it. Then Clove tears the dress off, leaving her in just her under garments and tosses her dress to Ellen. She then stomps off to her room.

Enobaria and Brutus rush into the room. "What in the name of Jupiter is going on in here?" Brutus exclaims.

"Clove just threw a temper tantrum." Ellen sniffs.

Enobaria looks from the shoes in the wall to the scrunched up dress in Ellen's arms and smiles.

"What is so funny?" Ellen demands.

"She did exactly what I did," Enobaria stifles a laugh, "Except I threw the heels _at _my escort and hit her in the shoulder."

"That is highly inappropriate!" Ellen exclaims.

"Who cares?" Enobaria asks back, "you guys are annoying. I'm going to go give Clove her _proper _walking lessons, since you obviously failed." She leaves and walks towards Clove's room. Ellen huffs and leaves the opposite way.

I turn to Brutus who has an amused expression on his face. "If you're wondering what Enobaria meant by saying proper, she and Ellen had a three hour argument about who should give Clove walking lessons, Enobaria obviously lost that one. Don't worry about Clove; she'll do fine with Enobaria."

I wasn't worried about her anyway.

-0_0-

Clove makes her appearance at dinner, she's wearing a silver silk dress and about 3 inch heels, and she looks good. Instead of walking like Ellen did (it would be horrifying if she did) she walks with confidence, and she doesn't wobble (like she did earlier). When Clove sits, she takes a seat next to me and across from Ellen who huffs when she sees Clove. "You know," Clove remarks around the middle of dinner. "Today I found out that heels can make quite good weapons, so thank you Ellen."

Ellen glares across the table at Clove then leaves and stomps off. "What's up with her?" Lorena asks, though she looks more interested in her soup.

"She tried to get Clove to walk with her hands out and with little steps and Clove threw her shoes at her." Brutus explains.

"Oh," Lorena looks amused.

"Yes, so for my interview I would prefer less high shoes, thank you very much." Clove says before turning back down at her plate of beef.

"Ok, I'll take that under consideration." Lorena chuckles.

-0_0-

Today is the day of the interview. I have to admit, I'm nervous. Alair has put me into a black dress shirt, black pants, a shiny dark coat and black dress shoes. He has my prep team gel my hair forward, and makes sure the top buttons of my shirt are undone. I meet up with Clove behind the stage, where Caesar is entertaining the crowd, we stand in a line, Glimmer and Marvel are in front of us, and 3 is behind us. Clove is wearing an orangey peach dress with ruffles at the top. She has on like 5 inch white heels to go with her dress, and her long dark hair is up high on her head then it cascades down in an elegant ponytail. She wears a minimal amount of makeup, but I do notice it on her. She has some light eye shadow (sadly I know what make up is since my mother loves the stuff) over her eyes, some blush, and light lipstick on. "You look so beautiful," I say so quietly only Clove can heat me. "It's killing me not to kiss you right now."

Clove smiles.

"Let's see if she does indeed shine, let's have a warm round of applause for Glimmer!" Caesar announces, interrupting my thoughts.

Glimmer comes up on the stage wearing a see-through gold dress, and gold heels; her long curly blonde hair is down, she's smiling and waving at the crowd. I'm still staring at her dress. Clove slaps my arm, "Stop staring." She commands.

"Glimmer, are you prepared?" Caesar asks.

"Yes, Caesar, I'm very prepared." Glimmer turns and smiles flirtingly at the crowd.

"I like it. That's self-assurance. That's self-assurance…." Glimmer's angle is obviously sexy, I wonder how long it took her mentors to figure that one out, and she is very pretty. When Glimmer's 3 minutes are up, Marvel goes up on the stage, he's wearing a blue suit, and I wouldn't put that thing on even if I was offered to pick the winner of the games. Wait actually I probably would. Marvel is obviously going for comedic. Huh, that's weird I never pegged him for the funny type, but he is. Sooner than later, the buzzer goes off and it's Clove's turn.

"Good luck," I whisper to her.

She smiles at me, "Don't need it."

"Welcome, Clove." Caesar says as Clove makes her way up the stage. Once they both are seated in the white cushioned chairs on the stage Caesar asks, "So Clove what are your feelings towards this year's games?" Wow, Brutus and Enobaria really were accurate in what Caesar was going to say.

"My feelings? I'm feeling that I'm ready to get in and win these games." Clove says, smiling.

"So you're confident that you'll win?"

"Of course I am! How couldn't I be? There is hardly any competition in these games!"

"Oh, really?" Caesar raises his eyebrows, "That's good confidence there. Now, I know that you think that this year's tributes will be easy, but who do you think is your biggest competition?" Yep, really accurate with the questions.

"Hmm, that's a tuff one, but if you made me choose, I'd say Cato, who is my district partner."

"And why is that?"

"Well have you seen him?" Clove laughs heartily.

"Ok, so Cato is your biggest competition, so do you see him as a big threat?"

Clove laughs as if Caesar has asked a very obvious question, "No way, I said he was my biggest competition, not a threat. If it comes down to me and Cato, I can take him." She says confidently, "Easy."

"That's good confidence," Caesar smiles, "I like it. What is your weapon of choice?"

"My weapon of choice, well there's an easy question." Clove smiles at the crowd, "knives, I am great at throwing knives. They are my expertise; I could hit someone in the heart, standing 20 feet behind me, with my eyes closed. "

"Really? If I tried to throw a knife at a house that's 2 feet away, I'm sure I'd miss," the crowd laughs, "So how do you do it?"

"Oh, it's easy really," Clove says with an air of superiority. "Knives are weighted, so depending on the knife, you can either throw by the handle or the blade."

"Which one do you prefer?"

"Well, on the smaller knives I like to throw by the blade, and on the larger ones it is easier to throw by the handle."

"Now, I would like to know, how do you get the accuracy to throw a knife?"

"Well it depends about the amount of force you need to put on it, so it can go as far as you want. Then the knife moves 3 knife flanks every rotation so mostly it's counting those out in your mind before you throw a knife."

"And how long does that take you?"

"Less than a second, really," Clove says, "Holding a knife is something that I'm accustomed to, it's easier for me to hold a knife than a pencil.

Caesar raises his eyebrows, "Wow, that's amazing." The buzzer goes off. Somehow it's already been three minutes. Both Caesar and Clove stand up. Caesar takes Cloves hand and holds it up. "Clove!" he exclaims to the applauding crowd.

As Clove walks off the stage, I say "good job."

She smiles and says, "Good luck, you need it more than I did."

Before I can object, a man comes over and takes me to the edge of the stage. When I walk on the stage the crowd cheers and waves at me, "Welcome Cato!" Caesar exclaims. We both sit down on the white chairs. "Now Cato, what are _your _feelings about these games?"

"Easy, there is no possible way that I could lose."

"Funny, that's exactly what your district partner, Clove said. She also said that she could take you easy, what do you have to say about that?"

I smile, "Oh please, I could take on Clove and win any day."

"Are you excited for the games?"

"Yes, very," not, "I'm very excited to win."

"How exactly do you plan to win the games?"

"Well, with my skill, as I said before, there's no possible way I could lose."

"What is your skill?" Yes, yes, Brutus and Enobaria were very accurate.

I laugh easily, "The easier question is, what isn't my skill? I can wield a sword, throw a knife, and throw a spear. If you were to hand me any weapon right now I bet that I can use it, no problem. I can just as easily kill someone without a weapon than with."

"How do you feel about the games?"

"Well, it's an honor, representing my district."

"You're a fighter?"

"I'm prepared, vicious. I'm ready to go." I say.

The buzzer goes off; Caesar stands up, taking my hand. "Cato!" He exclaims and raises my hand in the air as he has done with everyone else, the crowd goes wild.

When I step off the stage, Glimmer immediately comes up to me, she's still wearing her see-through gold dress. "Hey Cato," she gives me a flirtatious smile. "I think you did pretty amazing up there."

"Um, thanks Glimmer." I see Clove watching us.

"No problem," Glimmer takes my hand; I resist the urge to grab it back. "Let's go watch the rest of the interviews together." She takes me off to a different room where there is a screen, but no one else is there. I sit down on a couch in the room, Glimmer sits next to me. While we watch the interveiws, Glimmer snuggles up against me. She smells like cinnamon, I like the smell of clove and vanilla much better. I watch tribute after tribute go by; I pay close attention to the girl from 5. She has red hair and she's wearing a blue dress. Watching her interview I see that she _is _sly and cunning, Clove was right.

The boy from 11 doesn't say much, he's quiet and doesn't seem to like to answer the questions. Next up is Katniss- the girl from 12, the one I hate the most.

"So, Katniss, the Capitol must be quite a change from District twelve. What's impressed you most since you arrived here?" Caesar asks.

She doesn't reply for the longest time, and then she says, "The lamb stew." Wow. Ok then.

Caesar laughs, the one with the dried plums?" She's nods. "Oh, I eat it by the bucketful." Then Caesar turns sideways to the audience in horror, putting his hand on his stomach. "It doesn't show, does it?" The audience shouts and applauds Caesar. "Now Katniss, when you came out in the opening ceremonies, my heart actually stopped." Please stop reminding me of the costume that could cost me my sponsors. "What did you think of the costume?"

"You mean after I got over my fear of being burned alive?" She asks, the audience laughs.

"Yes. Start then," Caesar instructs her.

"I thought Cinna was brilliant and it was the most gorgeous costume I had ever seen and I couldn't believe I was wearing it. I can't believe I'm wearing this, either." She lifts her skirt and spreads it out, it is quite impressive looking, it's entirely covered in gems, with red, yellow, and white with bits of blue, when she moves it looks like she's on fire. "I mean look at it!" The audience gives many oohs and ahs, ugh Clove's dress was just as pretty, and she looks 100 times prettier than Katniss.

Katniss spins in a circle; it looks like she's on fire, like the fire is spinning around her, engulfing her in flames.

"Oh, do that again!" Caesar exclaims.

She lifts up her arms and spins multiple times. Glimmer scoffs, "She looks like an idiot." Finally something we can agree on.

"No, duh," I say. "She's just spinning around on the stage."

The audience is cheering. When Katniss stops, she has to clutch Caesar's arm to keep her from falling off the stage, I wish she had fallen off the stage.

"Don't stop!" Caesar cries.

"I have to!" She sounds giddy. "I'm dizzy!" she then giggles, the girl beating me right now is _giggling_.

Caesar wraps his arm around her, "Don't worry, I've got you. Can't have you following in your mentor's footsteps."

Everyone hoots and the screen flicks to their mentor, I think is name is like Hector, or Mitchel or something, maybe I'll ask Clove later, anyway he waves at the camera. Yes, we all know about his head dive off the stage, does anyone care though? "It's all right," Caesar reassures the crowd. "She's safe with me. So, how about that training score. Eleven. Give us a hint what happened in there." I don't know what she did, but I'm fairly sure that Clove has a good guess, I mean, when does Clove not have a guess about something?

Katniss glances up nervously at the Game Maker's balcony and bites her lip, "Um…" She says hesitantly. "All I can say, is that I think it was a first."

The screen goes to the Game Maker's they are all chuckling and nodding, what's so funny?

"You're killing us!" Caesar makes his voice sound in actual pain, _yeah and tomorrow you'll be killing us_ I think. "Details. Details." He begs.

She turns to the Game Maker's "I'm not supposed to talk about it, right?"

The screen zooms in to a Game Maker with a plump face, "She's not!" he exclaims.

When the screen goes back to Katniss she's suppressing a smile, I really want to know what happened back in there. "Thank you, my lips are sealed."

"Let's go back then, the moment they called your sister's name at the reaping," Caesars voice is quieter now. "And you volunteered. Can you tell us about her?"

Everything on Katniss's face screams no. I understand why she volunteered, even though being in the games is an honor is 2 I would volunteer for Solis, I won't risk his life for anything. "Her name is Prim. She's just twelve. And I love her more than anything." I actually can compare with Katniss on this subject. I love Solis so much. I imagine being somewhere where being in the games was bad luck, a death penalty, then have Solis be picked. It is a painful thought, I would volunteer for him, but even if he had been picked, I wouldn't be able to volunteer though, since Solis is 13 years younger than me. I would have to painfully watch as he went into the games to be slaughtered- no I wouldn't let that happen, I would kill everyone and take family and Clove's family, and run away, run away from Panem, run away from the Games, where we could live happily together, no worries about the reapings- Oh my god where did that thought come from?

The whole area is silent. "What did she say to you? After the reaping?" Caesar asks.

You can see Katniss swallowing; this would be a touchy subject for me too, if they were asking about Solis. "She asked me to try really hard to win."

"And what did you say?" Caesar asks her in a gentle voice.

I watch Katniss's muscles tense, when she speaks, it sounds as if her voice has dropped an octave, "I swore I would."

"I bet you did," Caesar says. Katniss's buzzer goes off, finally she's leaving before I can have any more sympathy for this girl. "Sorry we're out of time. Best of luck, Katniss Everdeen, tribute from District Twelve. "

The crowd applauds for what seems like ages.

Next up and last up is the boy from 12- Peeta. "Please welcome Peeta Mellark!" The crowd claps, though not as whole-heartedly as they did for Clove, Me, or Katniss. "Peeta, welcome. How are you finding the Capitol? And don't say, 'with a map.'"

"It's, uh, different. Very different than back home." Peeta replies, yeah it is a lot more crazy, and lots of weird looking people.

"Different, in what way? Give us an example."

"Ok, well, the showers here are weird."

"The showers?"

"Yes," I can already tell that Peeta is going for a charming humor.

"We have different showers," Caesar clarifies.

"I have a question for you Caesar; do I smell like roses to you?"

Everyone laughs and Caesar makes a face at the crowd.

"Um… all right," Peeta indicates with his hand to have Caesar sniff him.

"Take a whiff," Peeta says welcomingly, I resist the urge to laugh, Glimmer gives me a weird look.

Caesar smells Peeta, "Hmm."

"Do I?"

"Yes, do I smell like it?"

Peeta smells Caesar and the audience gasps. "Mm," the audience breaks out in laughter. "You defiantly smell better than I do." Peeta states.

"Well I've been here longer," Caesar says spreading out his arms,

Peeta nods, "That makes sense."

Everyone applauds, Peeta seems to have a way with the crowd, I respect him for that. "Very funny. So, Peeta, tell me is there a special girl back home?" Oh, this should be interesting.

Peeta looks out at the crowd, "No. No, not really…"

"Handsome lad like you. There must be _some _special girl. Come on, what's her name?"

Peeta lets out a big sigh, "Well, there's this one girl. I've had a crush on her ever since I can remember. But I'm pretty sure she didn't know I was alive until the reaping."

The crowd makes sympathetic sounds, they can relate to unrequited love. "She have another fellow?" Caesar asks.

"I don't know, but I know a lot of boys like her," Peeta informs us all.

"So, here's what you do. You win, you go home. She can't turn you down then eh?" Caesar says encouragingly.

"I don't think that's going to work out. Winning… won't help out in my case."

"Why not?" Caesar sounds confused.

Peeta blushes redder than a beat, and manages to stammer out, "Because she came here with me." Then he points his eyes down. The cameras hold onto his face. Then it points to Katniss's face, her mouth is half open in surprise. Then she presses her lips together and stares at the floor.

"Oh," For once Caesar seems at a loss for words. "That is a piece of bad luck." For some reason there's actual pain in voice. The crowd murmurs in agreement, some even let out agonized cries.

"It's not good," Peeta agrees.

"Well, I don't think any of us can blame you. It'd be hard _not _to fall in love with that young lady." Caesar says. "She didn't know?"

Peeta shakes his head, "not until now." I remember kissing Clove, and thinking that she would end our friendship, the fear that I had then, I feel for Peeta, though this whole thing is obviously not real, it's just for sponsors.

The screen goes to Katniss, her cheeks are bright red.

"Wouldn't you love to pull her back up here and get a response?" Caesar asks the audience, they all cry out yes and yeah! "Sadly, rules are rules, and Katniss Everdeen's time has been spent. Well best of luck to you, Peeta Mellark, and I think I speak for all of Panem when I say our hearts go with yours. "

I can hear the roar of the crowd through the door of the room Glimmer and I are in, Glimmer's head is rested against my chest, as Clove's so often is, it feels wrong to have someone else there. But if I push Glimmer away, she'll be suspicious.

When the audience quiets down, Peeta seems to choke out the words "Thank you," quietly, before coming off the stage.

The door to the room suddenly opens and Clove is standing in the doorway, she's staring at the two of us. "What do you want, stalker?" Glimmer asks.

Clove frowns and glares at Glimmer, "I came in here to find Cato, Brutus and Enobaria are looking for you. "

"Oh," I say, quickly getting up and pushing Glimmer off me.

"Oh, Cato," Glimmer whines. "Don't leave me."

"I'm sorry, Glimmer. I'll see you tomorrow."

Glimmer gives me a flirtatious grin. "See you tomorrow."

**A-W-K-W-A-R-D Lol what will happen next? As usual, Sneak peek of the next chapter on my website (link in bio) I'll post more when I get some more reviews.**

**~Bookfanic~  
**


	6. Chapter 6: The Rights and Wrongs in Love

**Cato's POV**

I follow Clove out of the room, and into the elevator. Since Brutus and Enobaria aren't here, I assume she lied about that part. We ride the elevator up in silence, what can I say? I'm sorry you saw some other girl lying on me; I was trying to cover up our relationship? No, I don't know what to say to her, so I stay quiet, I don't want to do anything else to our relationship. As soon as we get to the second floor, Clove leaves to go to her room, without saying a word to me. Brutus and Enobaria are sitting on the couch with Ellen, Lorena and Alair. "That was great, Cato." Ellen says standing up.

"Whatever," I say going off to my room. I take off my clothes and toss them on the bed, then I go to take a shower. After I get out of the shower, I wrap a white fluffy towel around my waist and walk into my room to find some clothes to wear. When I get into my room, I walk to my closet and I'm about to get some clothes out of it when Ellen walks into the room. She's wearing a very low-cut dress. When she comes in, I realize that all I have on is a towel. Ellen walks towards me, leaving the door open. "What are you doing here?" I ask, I sound like an idiot.

"Well," Ellen says in an odd voice, she's still walking towards me. "I saw you left the room upset, so I came to check on you." She is _disturbingly _close to me now, I begin to back up, but she just follows me. I back all the way up into the wall; Ellen is standing about an inch in-front of me. "Are you ok?" She asks; I realize then what her voice is, it's seductive, she's probably like 25-28 and she's trying to seduce a 16 year old, there's something very wrong with her.

"Yeah," I say, "I'm, uh, fine."

"That's good," Ellen comes closer, I wasn't even sure that that was possible.

"Uh, yeah, could you, um, back up now?" I ask her.

Then Ellen _kisses _me, she kisses me on the lips, and _of course _that's when Clove decides to appear in the doorway. She stands there, looking shocked. I push Ellen off me, she turns around and sees Clove, and I'm assuming that she's smirking. Clove just glares at Ellen, and then at me, it breaks my heart, really, to have her glare at me like this. All she says is, "I thought you were better than that Cato." Then she leaves taking my heart with her.

Ellen turns around at me, "oops." She's like in her 20's and she's acting like a 13 year-old.

"Get out." I tell her.

"But-"

"Get out, or I'll throw you out." I say.

Ellen huffs, and leaves the room. I then go and sit on my bed, and put my hands on my face. I'm sitting on my bed for who knows how long, when I start hearing a bang in the wall. It's the wall connected to Clove's room. I pull on a shirt and some pants; I don't even know or care what I'm wearing. I walk out of my room and try to open the door to Clove's room, it's locked. Of course, so I go out to the dining room and pick up a silver butter knife, then I return to Clove's room. A trick I learned from one of my friends- picking locks. When I get the door open to Clove's room, I find her throwing what look like steak knives at the wall, there are a pile next to her, and like 6 in the wall already.

Clove looks up when I step into the room; she's still wearing her dress from the interview. "Clove I –"

"I don't want to hear it." She says, throwing another knife that the wall.

"But-"

Clove turns to me, holding another knife in her hand. "I said, I don't want to hear it." She's holding the knife rather menacingly.

"Clove," I try to say in a calm voice, but seriously how calm would you be if your girlfriend was pointing a knife at you? "Can you please put the knife down, so we can talk?"

"You want to talk?" Clove asks angrily.

"Well yeah-"

"Ok," She's interrupting me _again. _"I trusted you, Cato." She throws her knife into the wall; all the knives in the wall are in a straight line. "I trusted you," bang, another knife is in the wall, "and then I find you in a dark room with another girl." Bang, "then when I come to hear your side of the story I find you kissing someone who is like 10 years older than you!" bang, bang, bang, 3 new knives join the line. "I let you in," bang, bang, bang, bang, "and all you do is destroy my trust." Bang, bang, "I came here planning to just kill everybody, and show no emotion towards anyone." Bang, damn how many knives does she have? She still has a pile of knives next to her. "Then I meet you, and I let you in, I talk to you and I end up liking you." Bang, "then we're happy," bang, "and the next thing I know," bang, "you're cheating on me with _two _different girls."

"Clove, that's, that's not what happened." I'm kind of stuttering now, now I see how it was from her perspective, and yeah, I do seem like a big ass.

"Oh yeah? I bet Glimmer just happened to snuggle up against you and you didn't notice, and Ellen just kissed you and caught you off guard huh?" Clove's voice is dripping with sarcasm.

"What happened," I have to keep my voice from rising, I don't want to lose her, I can't. "Is Glimmer rubbed up against me, and I wanted to push her away but I couldn't and-"

"And why couldn't you?" Clove sneers, "Because it felt so right?"

"WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP AND LISTEN?!" I see Clove flinch away. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I say taking a step towards her. She points one of her knives at me, I stop; I know that she's just as good with her left hand throwing a knife as her right. "I shouldn't have yelled, but can you just listen to me and not interrupt?"

Something about my expression must've said something, because Clove's hardened face softens a little bit, "ok," she says quietly.

"Thank you," I sigh. I sit on her bed, and Clove perches on the end. I notice that she still hasn't taken the steak knife from her hand. "What happened is Glimmer brought me into the room, and I wanted to tell her to get off me, but that would cause suspicion." Clove looks like she's about to say something, but closes her mouth, remembering that she said she'd be quiet. "and then I had just gotten out of the shower and I was about to get dressed to go and see you, but then Ellen came into my room, before I could even get dressed. She kept stepping towards me, and I kept backing up, until she had me against the wall, and then she kissed me I swear that I didn't kiss her back. You were in the door as soon as she kissed me, I had no idea that she was going to kiss me, none at all." My eyes plead with Clove to understand, but her face is blank, devoid of emotion. "After you left I made Ellen leave and I swear that nothing was purposeful, and neither of them meant anything to me. I love you, Clove. I'm in love with you, and I'd never cheat on you. So, I know it might be a little far, but could you please forgive me?" It's quiet for a long time. After a while I say, "Ok, I get it." I stand up to leave. Before I can walk away, she grabs my wrist.

"Did you just say what I think you said?" she asks me quietly.

I sit back down on her bed. "That depends," I reply, equally as quiet. "What did you think I said?"

"Did you just say that you-?"

"Yes, Clove, I love you, I'm in love with you and I know that there's no one else that I'll ever feel the same about."

Clove looks at me for a while; she seems to be studying my face. Then she leans forward and up, and kisses me, lightly on the lips. "Yes." She says.

"Wait- what?" I ask her.

"Yes, I do forgive you."

"Clove I- "

Then she kisses me again, this time it's fierce and it's not a short one either. The next thing I know, my shirt is off and we're lying on the bed, kissing. Between kisses I manage to say "Are you sure about this?"

Clove smiles at me, "I've never been so sure of anything in my life."

**Short chapter, but this is where I thought it should end, this is a very good place to stop, don't you think? Please don't kill me, Clato, Clato, Clato Sneak peeks on my website, (Link in the bio) I'll post anothet chapter when I get some more reviews (love the amazing feedback guys!) BTW O'm thinking I'll post a new chapter every 3 reviews, or if I just feel like posting one :D **

**Until next time**

**~Bookfanic~**


	7. Chapter 7: Prepare to Launch

**HELLOOOO People, extremely short chapter here, but hey this is an intense place to end, also I want to drag the story out. Lol, jk but I'm trying to end the chapters in the right places, so sorry if they've been really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, short lately. BTW wow I got 3 reviews in less than 4 hours….. Ok here's your next chapter as promised. **

**Cato's POV**

When I wake up, the first thing I realize is that I'm the actually the first one out of the two of us to wake up, Clove is lying on her side, facing me, she's wearing the T-shirt that I was wearing earlier. Her face looks calm, content, and happy. I smile at her; she is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

I don't know how long I've been looking at her when she says, "Don't stare, it's creepy."

"No, it's loving." I tell her matter-of-factly.

"Creepy," she says, opening her eyes smiling.

"Loving," I grin back at her.

"Creepy."

"Loving."

"Creepy."

"Loving."

"Creepy."

"Loving."

"Loving."

"Creepy," Clove raises her eyebrows at me and begins to laugh, and then I realize what I just said. "Oh, whatever." Clove is still laughing.

Then there's a knock on the door, "Clove, honey, we need you to come out, you're already late."

Clove's happy face disappears, "today the games begin."

"But we're going to stick together; nothing can stand in our way if we're together." I say, she smiles at me.

"Nothing," she says.

I'm about to say something when Lorena knocks on the door more insistently, "Clove, you can't be late for the games, you need to go and get a shower. That goes for you too, Cato!" Lorena calls through the door, "Alair wants you showered and changed in 5 minutes."

"Alright," Clove calls back, "I'll be out in 10." She then turns to me, her expression sad and something else that I just can't identify, it's there but I can't remember the exact word for it. "I'll see you in the games, Cat." She says, kissing me then leaves and goes into the bathroom. We both know that this might be the last time either of us see each other (not likely but possible) and we also both know that only one person can win the games. Only one of us can go home, only one, not both.

-0_0-

After I shower, Alair gives me a simple T shirt and some pants. I pull my necklace over my head, I have to make sure that I don't forget it here; otherwise the only thing I have left of my family is memories. Alair takes me to the balcony that I didn't even know we had. As soon as we are outside, a hovercraft appears from thin air. A ladder snakes down from it. I grab the ladder, I feel an electric current go through me, gluing me to the later, I can't even move. I am lifted safely inside the hovercraft. As soon as I get in, I expect I'll be unfrozen, but I'm not. A man with a white lab coat on walks over to me, he's holding a syringe. "Cato, I'm going to put a tracker in you ok?" I can't move my mouth to answer him, and I'm fairly sure that he knows that since he smirks. "The stiller you stay the more efficiently I can put your tracker in." he smirks again, he knows I can't move! Then he sticks the syringe in my arm, he's not very careful about it either, I can feel the tracker entering my body, even though it's small, it feels different.

As soon as the tracker is in me, the ladder unglues me. It takes all my will power not to kill this man right here, right now. Alair is now being picked up from the roof, so the only person I'll have before the games to comfort me is Alair, joy. An Avox boy comes in as soon as Alair is in the hovercraft an Avox boy comes in and leads us to a room where breakfast is laid out. I make sure to stuff myself, I don't know if the Cornucopia will have food or not, so I don't know when I'll eat next. The hovercraft ride lasts a little under a half an hour. The windows black out, indicating that we are arriving at the Arena, Alair and I climb down the ladder, this time we end up underground in what I know is called the catacombs. The catacombs are under the Arena. A man gives us instructions, straight forward 4 doors to the left.

The room we end up in is called the Launch Room in the Capitol, though in the Districts we prefer Stock yard. Everything in here is brand-new; I am the first and last tribute to use this room. The Arena's turn into historic sites after the games, they are popular for Capitol citizens to come and visit for vacations or something. You can re-watch that years Hunger Games, explore the catacombs, visit the sites where the famous deaths took place, you can even take parts in the reenactments. (Perfectly safe of course, wouldn't want to injure one precious Capitol citizen no that would be a crime.) It disgusts me. There is a small bathroom in here, but I already showered so I just clean my teeth, (if I'm going to fight to the death might as well start out with nice breath and clean teeth.) Alair receives my clothes, he has no say in what I wear though, no that's chosen by the Game Makers. What I'm given are simple tawny pants, a green shirt, a sturdy brown belt, and a thin hooded jacket that reaches of the base of my shirt

"That jacket," Alair points to my coat, "is designed to reflect body heat, you should expect some pretty cold nights."

The boots I'm given to wear are worn over tight socks. They are good leather boots; they're made of soft leather and have narrow flexible soles with treads, good for running. I let the gold pendant hang on my chest.

"They were hesitant about letting people have tokens this year." Alair informs me.

"Why?" I ask curiously.

"Because the girl from 1 had a ring that if you twisted them gem stone a poisoned spike popped out."

I grin that is a pretty clever idea. I sit down in a chair, until a female's voice announces that it's time to prepare for the launch. I walk confidently over to the metal plate. A glass cylinder lowers around me, it begins to rise. I can feel the open air around me, and the warm sunlight against my face, I love it. I look around me, I have come up next to a random person and the girl from 5, the one that Clove doesn't like. All 24 of us are in a ring surrounding the Cornucopia. The assortment of goods gets better and better the closer you get to the Cornucopia. A baton lies a few feet away from my panel. I can see that everyone else's heads are jerking around and looking around at the area. My eyes find Clove; she has her eyes set on a pair of knives that are approximately 20 feet away from her plate.

I hear Claudius Templesmith's voice boom all around me. "Ladies and gentleman let the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games begin!"

**Bwahahahahahaha as always sneak peeks on my website (in the bio) and as always, I'll post another chapter when I get more reviews (3). See ya then ~Bookfanic~**


	8. Chapter 8: Let The Games Begin

**Let the Games begin.**

**Clove's POV**

The sun, I just want to lie here, and absorb the sun, and not move, but that would get me killed. I look around me, the Cornucopia has assorted goods all spread out around it. The best things are in the middle. While looking around I find something that catches my eye, a pair of knives, propped up against a blue backpack, my favorite color, with knives, it seems to be made for me. I look around, at Katniss; her eyes are trained on a silver bow. I've already guessed that Katniss's hidden skill is the bow, I mean she avoided it all training and wasn't extraordinary at anything, this almost confirms it. Looking around, we are on a flat, open stretch of land, a plain of hard packed dirt. Behind me, I see that there is a field of grain and grasses; it seems to go on forever. In front of me, and beind the Tributes across from me, there are sparse piney woods, many of the Tributes will go and hide there I think. To my left lies a lake, 20…. We are required to stand on our metal circles for 60 seconds before the sound of the gong releases us. If you step off 1 second before the gong, boom, a landmine blows you up. After this that's were 3 comes in, he will rewire the landmines for us around all out supplies.

10… Cato, I can see is preparing himself to run. 9…. Marvel has his eyes on a silver spear in the middle of the area. 8…. Glimmer is staring at Cato, I hate that girl. 7… Peeta is watching Katniss. 6…. Rue is looking at a backpack that stands a foot in front of her circle. 5… The boy from 3 sees me looking at him and winks, ew dude, I have a boyfriend. 4… I am staring at the pair of knives in front of me. 3… Katniss looks up at Peeta; he shakes his head at her. 3… Katniss looks puzzled, she's trying to figure out what Peeta meant. 2…. I prepare myself to dash to the knives. 1…

All hell breaks loose. I run straight to the knives, ducking the boy from 5. Somehow he got his hands on an ax, and he's able to swing it. After I duck his first blow, he swings at me again, this time in the side. I cry out in pain, only a few more feet until I reach the knives. I stand up and run, the ax lands in the dirt behind me and the boy struggles to pull it out of the ground. I can feel my wound from here that luckily my wound isn't too deep, I'll live. I grab the backpack and knives. Picking the first knife up, I throw it and it hits the boy in the throat, he falls over, coughing up blood. I run forward, leaning down to grab the boy's ax and my knife in one swoop of my arm. I see the boy from 3 having a struggle with the girl from 7, I throw my ax, and it lands in the girls back, causing her to fall backwards, dead. 3 smiles gratefully at me, though the horror is evident on his face. I turn around, and then go flying a few feet backwards; the girl from 3 has just smacked me with a baton. I roll my eyes, just because I'm smaller than most people here doesn't mean that I'm not lethal! I throw my dagger, it hits home, as in the heart. I take a quick look around, Glimmer is aggressively stabbing the girl from 6 to death, whoa calm down girl. Cato has just killed the girl from 9; it looks like he broke her neck by swinging his baton and whacking her in the chin, and she falls to the ground, dead. Marvel is yanking his spear from the dead body of the boy from 7. Katniss is having a struggle with the boy from 9 for an orange backpack. I throw knife 1, it lands in 9's back, causing him to cough up blood into Katniss's face. I throw knife 2, but Katniss is smart and raises her backpack up so the knife lands in that instead of sinking into her back. I run after her for a bit, but realizing I don't have a weapon but she does doesn't help my want to chase after her.

The male from 8 comes running at me with a spear, good an 8. As soon as the boy gets too close for comfort I flip over him, grabbing the spear as I go. I yank the spear from his weak grasp and stick it through his back in literally out through his stomach. I yank the spear out and leave him to die, thank you, now I have a weapon, since I have no want to pull a bloody knife from a dead boy's back. Cato is now rushing to poor weak Glimmer's aid, while the District 6 male pushes her to the ground, I snicker, wimp. 6 is about to kill her and I'm silently rooting, do it, do it! When Cato kills him, ruin my fun, Cat, way to do it.

Marvel has found quite the collection of spears by now. He throws one with dead accuracy and hits the girl from 10 in the stomach. Coming out of the Cornucopia Thresh is holding a crescent sword and a blue back pack. Marino gets in his way, holding a trident (A/N not in the book or movie, I know but seriously I've killed everyone dead from the book already besides the boy from 4) Thresh takes his bag and whacks Marino in the head, knocking him over. Then Thresh splits open Marino's head. I hear Sierra cry out, I turn and see that Sierra is also holding a trident, but it is unbloodied, hinting that her kill of people is an astonishing 0. Thresh then runs away, into the grain field and disappears in the tall grasses.

There is no one left to kill, the bloodbath is over, so I lower my spear. A canon goes off boom, boom, boom. 11 times, 11 Tributes are dead, 12 left to go. Then I hear a scream, we all turn to see Peeta- the boy from 12- holding a machete to Glimmer's neck. Glimmer is struggling, screaming and kicking. "LET GO OF ME YOU STUPID WORTHLESS…."

Peeta says something, but I can't hear what he says over Glimmer's annoying yells. "GLIMMER SHUT THE FREAKING HELL UP OR I SWEAR I'LL BE THE ONE TO KILL YOU INSTEAD OF TWELVE!" That shut Glimmer up all right. "Now," I smile pleasantly at Peeta. "What did you say?"

"I said," Peeta is trying to look intimidating but failing, at least in my standards. "That I want in on the Alliance."

Cato, Marvel, Sierra, and I all exchange a glance. If we say no then Glimmer dies (fine with me) and possibly Peeta. If we say yes we have a new team member and keep Glimmer (ugh). My smart part of me tells me to say yes, but the jealous part of me urges me to say no.

"…..What do you think Clove?" Cato asks me, I realize that they have been in a conversation and I had just zoned out.

"Um, I think we should say yes," I say.

"It's 2 on 2 then. Marvel and you say yes, Cato and I say no," Sierra says.

"We do have 2 more member of the Alliance remember?"

"Two?" Sierra asks.

"Yeah," I say. "THREE!"

The boy from 3 comes around the Cornucopia and walks over to us, "We have a slight problem." I say, and I point to Peeta and Glimmer. "Peeta wants to join the Alliance, if we say yes, we get to keep 2 team members, no and we lose one. What do you think?"

3 thinks about this for a while, "Chop, chop," Sierra says, "We haven't got all day."

"I say yes." 3 says.

I smile, "3 on 2 and then there's one more, HEY! GLIMMER! DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD SAY YES OR NO?!"

Her reply is immediate, "YES YOU DUMB…"

I grin apologetically at Cato and Sierra, "4 on 2. Yes wins." I then walk over the part of land between Peeta and me. I see Peeta's grip tighten on the machete. As soon as I'm about 4 feet away I say, "Yes, you can join the Alliance."

Peeta sighs relived, he thought we'd say no, and let Glimmer be killed? No I could _never _do that. He lets Glimmer go; she falls to the ground because she was in the process of trying to kick Peeta. I take a step closer to Peeta, he points the machete at me, "Don't come any closer," he warns me.

"If I was going to kill you, I would have thrown this spear," I indicate my spear, "through you rib cage by now. You are part of the Alliance which means we are going to have to take care of each other for a while now put the machete down or I'll do it for you."

Apparently me making him put the machete down was a bad choice, so he lowers his machete. (Smart move.) I step closer to Peeta he has cut on his right bicep it looks kind of deep. His hands are also bandaged, though I know that they weren't last night. His leg is swelling and his face is already starting to bruise. "C'mon," I say. "Let's get you fixed up." I start to walk to the Cornucopia but Peeta is standing stalk still, "are you coming, or are you trying to bleed to death?"

"Are you?" He asks I'm confused for a moment, and then I realize that he's talking about my side, I look at it. There is red seeping through my cut shirt and dripping on the ground beneath me.

"Oh, it's not deep." I tell him. "Yours is, now come on; I'll get you cleaned up."

Peeta looks puzzled but follows me to the Cornucopia. I find a first aid kit and make him sit down on one of the boxes. Taking out some whatever you call it, I slather it onto his cut and wrap a bandage around it. "Is it too tight?" I ask him.

"What?" He was obviously thinking about something.

"Is the bandage too tight?"

"No, no, it's fine."

"Alright, now put out your hands."

Peeta gives me a quizzical look but obediently puts out his hands. I unwrap his bandages on his hands and see multiple deep cuts in his hands. "Whoa, what happened here?"

"Oh," he says lightly, "Nothing."

"Does nothing include Katniss being mad about your confession last night?"

Peeta looks at me surprised, "How did you know?"

"I can read facial expressions and body language." I tell him, "So what did she do?"

"She pushed me over into a vase and it broke, hence the hands."

"Oh, I – "

Cato interrupts me, "Where's your girlfriend Lover Boy?"

"She's not my girlfriend and I don't even like her, it was a show."

I snort, yeah right.

"Well, she seems stupid enough to have believed you so we have decided to keep you alive, at least until we find her."

"Um, Thanks-?"

"Wait a minute," I cut Peeta off. "You guys made a decision without me?"

Cato smirks, we made a deal last night to show no signs of affection or anything for each other. It's all an act. "You were busy over here taking care of Lover Boy, we thought that we shouldn't put the weight of deciding plus taking care of him on your shoulders, it might break them, since you're so small." He's good.

I smile sweetly at him, "I won't kill you for that, since we still have 13 left in the Arena, but you're first on my list after we break the Alliance." Yeah right, like I could kill him.

Cato puts his hands up, and in a mocking voice he says, "Oh, I'm so scared."

"You should be," I say.

Cato walks arrogantly back to the others.

"I'm sorry." Peeta interrupts my train of thoughts.

"Sorry about what?" I put medicine on his hands and rewrap them.

"That I'm making you unpopular in the Alliance."

I laugh, "Oh, they'll learn to respect me, or I'll make them to."

"Gods, your scary, Clove."

I smile, "that's what I'm going for."

"It's working." I pour alcohol on his leg and he winces, then I put the medicine on and the bandages.

"Well, that's good to know since you're taller and older than me and I'm scaring you. Let's go, before they decide to kill you now." I toss Peeta my spear; he's going to need it more than me.

I walk over to the group, "Let's get one thing straight shall we?" I ask them, not waiting for a reply I say, "Nobody kills Rue, the girl from 11 or else I swear I will cut out your heart with a dull stone." I don't care what anyone else says.

"Awe, is she fond of the baby girl?" Glimmer asks me.

"Awe, is she fond of getting held hostage by a boy from a poor District?" that shut Glimmer's big mouth up.

-0_0-

We all decide to search the Cornucopia for goods next. Inside it I find piles on piles of knives, that pleases me. It's like they put that stuff there just for me. I also find a black vest that holds knives on the front. It fits me; looks like the Game Makers are on my side for this. I load as many knives as I can fit in my vest. I also grab a blue thermal sleeping bag, a few bags of food, 2 water pouches, and a really extreme first aid kit. Looking in my backpack that I had actually forgotten was there, I find matches, a loaf of bread, a blanket, and a long string of leather. The sleeping bag compacts down into a smaller size that I can fit in my backpack. I stuff the water in my bag along with the extra food and medicine. You can never be too cautious, Shawna used to say. Thinking about Shawna makes me smile and want to cry I miss my family and friends.

We set up a weather proofed warm camp set that was in the Cornucopia, it's big and can fit us all in it. It is made from material made to reflect our body heat, a valuable possession. Along with my multiple knives in my vest, I stuff some in my belt, along with a sword. Looking at the sword I remember a rather recent memory.

"_I've seen you use a sword, you're really good, though, probably not as good as me." I smirk. _

"_Oh really?" He raises his eyebrows mockingly at me._

"_Really," I say arrogantly._

"_Well, maybe we'll just have to test that theory of yours so I can prove you wrong."_

"_Maybe we should, so I can prove I'm right," I tell him._

_He rolls his eyes, "You can try, knife girl."_

"_Did you just call me knife girl?" The nick-name brings a grin to my face_

"_Yes, I believe that I did." He grins back at me._

"_You're going down Cat." _

"_Seriously Cat?" _

_I laugh._

"_Or you could just call me hottest ever-supreme-destroyer," he informs._

"_But Cat fits better." I fake whining._

When I first actually met Cato, I knew I liked him as a person immediately. I didn't realize I liked liked him until after he kissed me, then I realized that I really liked him. He brought down the walls that I had so quickly put up, to not like anyone to show no emotions. He began to bring the walls down as soon as he came down that old laundry chute and started to talk to me. He completely destroyed my walls, my protected emotions when he kissed me. Now I am a different person. I am stronger with Cato; I can't imagine anything without him anymore. My life before that train I was in a dream, a trance, Cato has brought me to the harsh reality and shown me what life is with love. I loved Joce, Shawna, and my family but no one out of that, ever. I never even liked any of the guys they all seemed pompous and arrogant to me, as in too much like me. Talking to Cato slapped me awake, and made me see what love was. Now I can't live without him, without Cato I am just a shadow, a sliver of myself. There's no way I'm going to let him go.

I am zoned out in my train of thoughts about Cato, when 3 comes up in front of me. "Hey, hey Clove?"

I jerk back to reality; I almost kill 3 out of surprise. "Yeah?" I ask.

"I was wondering how you want me to rebury the mines."

"Oh, ok." I say, pushing my thoughts of Cato from my head.

I map out a complex pathway of jumping and stuff around where everyone else has piled our supplies in a pyramid. "Can you do that?" I ask 3.

"Yeah," he says. "Easy."

I make sure everyone here knows the supply path before I walk up to Cato, who is talking to Glimmer.

"Hey, Cato," I say.

He turns and looks at me, "What?"

"I faintly remember you challenging me to a sword fight."

"Really? I remember you challenging me to a sword fight."

"No, I don't remember that, it was you asking me." I see that he is holding a sword already; I take my sword from my belt.

"What are you doing?" Glimmer demands, "We're not supposed to try and kill each other!"

I raise my eyebrows at Glimmer, "We're not going to kill each other, and we're just going to spar."

"But –"

"Oh, shut up already," I tell Glimmer. "Shall we?" I ask Cato.

Cato and I stand out in the flat area next to the lake. We stand across from each other.

"On 3?" he asks me.

"1," I say.

"2."

"3."

I leap at Cato, and swing my sword up towards his head. These are real swords so if I thought he wasn't going to block, I wouldn't have done it. Cato blocks, and I land in front of him. He swings his sword to my left, I block, but he was expecting me to do that, because he kicks my legs out from under me. The next thing I know I'm lying on the ground with Cato's sword to my throat.

"You were saying about being better than me?" Cato asks.

"Let's go again."

This time I win, using the same technique I used on the trainer, at the beginning of the fight I just flip over Cato and I have my sword at his throat within 3 seconds.

"You were saying about being better than me?" I smile at him sweetly.

We continue going on spar for a while, both Cato and I have equal wins by the end. We are both tired and we both sit down on chairs that are out next to out tent. I gasp in pain as I sit down; the wound in my side appears to have broken its small layer of scab.

"What's wrong?!" Cato rushes to my side.

"Oh," I clutch my side. "It's nothing."

"It's obviously not nothing if you're gasping in pain about it. C'mon Clove, tell me what's wrong." Damn his pleading blue eyes are so cute.

"Fine," I lift my shirt up slightly, revealing the bleeding cut.

Cato winces at the sight of it.

"Don't worry," I assure him. "It's not deep."

"It's still bleeding, let's get that bandaged up. Stay." He tells me, what am I a dog now?

Cato returns with a medicine kit, it is more updated than the old first aid kit I used on Peeta. In the kit there is a special medicine that was invented recently in the Capitol. Also there's burn medicine, but I don't need that, though I put it in my backpack just in case.

Cato makes me hold my shirt up as he wipes away the blood with a damp cloth (that hurts), and then he puts on alcohol (I resist the urge to punch him), then he adds the medicine (that stings a little but not as much as the alcohol), finally he puts on a bandage. Looking over Cato's shoulder I see Glimmer glaring in our direction. I inwardly smirk.

**Hey look! No minor cliff hanger this time! Lol, sneak peeks on my website (link in bio) please R&R my story, I love your feedback. And Since I've updated this 3 times in one day I think I'm changing it to I'll post every 4 reviews and see how that goes. See you next time**

**~Bookfanic~**


	9. Chapter 9: Promises and Favors

**I love you guys so much! You're so supportive and awesome. Sorry I haven't posted a new chapter yet, I was out shopping all day. I would just like to say to my Parabati and Bestest friend ever I LOVE YOU SO MUCH she gave me a pair of combat boot for free. I'm changing it to when I get 6 reviews I'll post another chapter, hopefully I'll see you guys soon, here's your new chapter. **

**Clove's POV**

3 has finished the reburying the land mines, so all the supplies we don't have with us are protected. Though, as I said before, since I'm over cautious I am still carrying a blanket, some food, 2 canteens of water, a sleeping bag, matches, the leather string, and some other bits and pieces in my backpack. I am the only one to be carrying a backpack with me, so I look kind of stupid. But who cares? If somehow someone steals our supplies, I have extra provisions; everybody else (excluding Cato) can starve and freeze to death. It is beginning to be dark. We light a fire and set shifts. 3 and I first, Cato and Sierra next (Glimmer pouted at this) Glimmer and Marvel, then its morning. Peeta has no shift tonight. I sit down with my back to the Cornucopia. I hold a large knife in my hand, just in case. 3 is sitting on the other side of the tent. I hear a faint little noise coming from the tent about 30 minutes into my shift. I quietly creep over and look inside. Peeta is quietly repeating the name over and over, "Katniss, Katniss, Katniss…" it's kind of haunting.

Before anyone else can notice that he's calling for her (he'd probably be dead right after) I wake him up. "Peeta," I hiss. He stirs, "Peeta, wake up!"

Peeta jerks awake, "Whaaa?"

I put my finger to my lips and point out. He looks confused and suspicious.

"For the love of Jupiter, I'm not going to kill you, I swear, though it won't be me killing you if you don't get out of bed, so come on."

Peeta hesitantly gets out of his sleeping bag, picking up the spear I gave him, and placing his machete in his belt.

I yank him out of the tent and call quietly, "3 I'm going for a walk!"

Then without waiting for a reply I pull Peeta into the forest. After we are far away from the Cornucopia I stop, Peeta has his hang gripped tightly around the spear. "What do you want with me Clove?"

"You really love her don't you?"

Peeta splutters, "What?"

"Katniss, you really love Katniss."

"No, I don't I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Drop the act Peeta. I know you love her. I've seen the way you look at her and the way you talk about her, and to complete the picture you were whispering her name in your sleep, which is really kinda creepy."

Peeta stare at me for a long time, all we have is the moon light to see each other, and luckily the moon is bright. "So what now? Are you going to kill me for it?" He asks.

"No," I say. "I'm not going to kill you, but I'll make a deal with you."

"What kind of deal?"

"I'll protect Katniss and you as much as I can."

"What?" He asks confused.

I take a deep breath, "I'll protect you and Katniss for as long as I can, but if choosing between me and you guys I'll choose me to live."

"Why?"

I ignore his question. "Just tell me one thing and I'll keep this deal with you."

"What?"

"Katniss got her 11 using a bow didn't she?"

"How did you know that?" Peeta asks astonished.

"Well," I say, "It was a guess really. I've been watching you two, I know that you're amazing with camouflage and that you're fairly good with a knife. I know that Katniss can tie knots better than anyone I've ever seen and that with the weapons she's fair, but not extraordinary, there was one weapon that she didn't use, the bow so there was only one way really that she could have gotten an eleven."

Peeta looks astonished, "Wow, never thought about it like that."

"Yeah, well I may be small, but I'm probably the smartest in the Alliance." I smirk.

"You sure seem to be the smartest."

"Thanks."

"Now, why are you willing to do this for me?"

I smile slightly at him, "Because I know what it feels like to be in love."

"What? Who-?" I turn around and walk away, leaving a confused Peeta to follow me back to the camp.

Back at camp, I see that Cato is yelling at 3. "—SO YOU JUST LET HER GO OUT IN THE FOREST ALONE?!"

"No, no, she was with the, the, boy from 12," 3 stutters.

"OH YEAH AND I BET HE WAS ARMED?!" Cato exclaims.

I jump in before Cato murders 3, "Whoa, Cato, I'm fine."

"Gods, Clove, don't go off like that." Cato rubs his forehead.

"Like what?" I ask.

"Like without telling anyone." Cato has anger rising in his voice.

"I told 3."

"Exactly what I mean," Cato says.

3 is smart enough to stay quiet.

"What were you doing anyway?"

"I was talking to Peeta." I say simply.

"About?"

"It's really none of your business," I say.

Cato frowns at me, but he can't say because he's my boyfriend that he's worried about me and he knows that I know it.

The watch that I got from the Cornucopia beeps, "Oh, look, 3 our shifts over, guess we can go to sleep now." I say before Cato can ask me about the exact things that Peeta and I were talking about. "Cato, I'll get Sierra up for you."

I step into the tent and shake Sierra awake, "Mm?"

"It's time for your shift." I inform her.

"Oh," she yawns, "ok."

I lie down in my thermal sleeping bag, but I don't settle into sleep for a couple hours. So I lie awake and think about stuff. Jocey would be nagging me about my bloody shirt. I would tell her that I don't have another change of clothes, and she'd probably tell me just to take my shirt off and just wear my vest and undergarments. I almost laugh at the thought of it. I fall asleep thinking of Cato.

"Clove! Knife-Girl! Wake up!" I am awoken by Cato; he is standing over me, blue eyes shining in the night.

"Mm, what?" I yawn.

"Get out of the tent and you'll see." He tells me, ugh you're annoying when you're trying to be mysterious.

I get out of the tent, after I fold my sleeping bag back up and place it in my backpack. I'm the last one out; everyone is staring at a light in the distance. Someone has a fire lit in the forest.

Marvel grabs a spear, Cato has his sword, I have my knives, Sierra has her trident, Peeta his machete and the spear I gave him and 3 has a spear.

"Glimmer and 3 you guys stay behind and guard our things." I instruct.

"What?! No way am I staying with this, this, weak little…" Glimmer has a….interesting choice of words. "Who put you in charge anyway? You're too small and weak to be a leader!"

"Excuse me?" I ask.

"Apparently she's deaf too," Glimmer says sarcastically. "I said that you're too small and weak to be a leader."

I turn my back to her, to prevent me from ripping her throat out.

"Aw look, she's crying."

Alright that's it. I take a large knife from my vest and throw it over my shoulder, it pierces Glimmer's jacket, and I threw it with so much force that it pinned her to a tree.

I walk calmly up to Glimmer, who is trying to pull the knife out from the tree. I pull another knife from my vest and put it to her throat, her pulse is going a million times per minute. "Want to call me small and weak again?"

Before Glimmer can reply in a snarky way, Sierra interrupts. "I'll stay with 3."

I turn to look at Sierra, I'm guessing that she just saved Glimmer's life; I can have quite a temper. "Alright," I say. I pull the knife from the tree in one easy fluid motion. "Don't cross me again." I tell Glimmer, and I begin to go into the forest, the others quickly following in my wake.

We all follow the light, it's so obvious where it is, I mean it is the only light in this whole Arena. We silently creep up to the clearing where the light's source is. The girl from 8 is sleeping by the dying fire. I cock my head sideways, indicating that we should go in. All the sudden the 5 of us burst out of our hiding, causing the girl to jerk awake.

She screams when she sees us and tries to run. Cato grabs her hair before she can get 5 feet. "Please, please," she begs. "Please don't kill me."

I feel a pang of regret for her, then I remind myself that she's from 8, her District prevented my father from coming home, from meeting me.

"Ah, honey," Glimmer says sweetly. "That's not what the games are about."

Cato laughs and takes his sword and stabs the girl in the abdomen. She lets out an agonized scream, I have to look away. Her District killed your father; her District killed your father I have to keep telling myself, to keep me from rushing to her aid.

"Twelve down and eleven to go!" Marvel shouts.

We all hoot.

The girl has a backpack, we check through it and find, an empty canteen, half a bag of dried berries and 1 match. Wow. "Better clear out so they can get the body before it starts stinking," Cato remarks.

We all murmur assent, then we walk away from the site.

"Shouldn't we have heard the cannon by now?" Marvel asks.

"I'd say yes. Nothing to prevent them from going in immediately," Glimmer says. Wow, Something slightly intelligent from her.

"Unless, she isn't dead," I say, it's possible.

"She's dead. I stuck her myself." Cato says indignantly, mimicking the struck motion with his sword.

"Someone should go back. Make sure the job's done." Marvel says.

"Yeah," I agree, "We don't want to have to track her down twice."

"I said she's dead!" I can feel Cato's temper rising.

"We're wasting time! I'll finish her and let's move on!" Peeta exclaims.

"Go on, then, Lover Boy," Cato says confidently. "See for yourself."

Peeta takes a torch and head back to where we killed the girl. He's limping from his leg injury, and his face is now swollen with his bruises. We all stay silent until he gets out of earshot.

"Why don't we kill him now and get it over with?" Glimmer asks.

"Let him tag along. What's the harm? And he's handy with a knife." I say.

"Besides, he's our best chance of finding her." Cato puts in.

"Why?" Marvel asks. "You think she bought into that sappy romance stuff?"

"She might have. Seemed pretty simpleminded to me. Every time I think about her spinning around in that dress, I want to puke." Ha Glimmer, you're just jealous that she got more attention than you did in you slutty dress.

"Wish we knew how she got that eleven." Marvel says wistfully.

"Bet you Lover Boy knows." Cato says.

Bet you Clove knows. I say in my head.

I hear Peeta coming back, they do too, since they all silence.

"Was she dead?" asks Cato.

"No." Peeta says simply. "But she is now, ready to move on?"

It surprises me that the sun is already coming up, it was a short night. The sound of birds chirping fills the air making me feel sick for home. I miss waking up and going to training with Joce and Shawna. I miss seeing the sun rise over the mountains and getting congratulations from Patricia. I miss it all, and I don't intend to ever see it again, Cato's going to be the one to make it out of this Arena alive, not me.

We make it back to our camp when the sun is just over the tree line. Peeta makes us breakfast, though Marvel insists on watching him to make sure that he doesn't try and poison us or something. I decide to put some use to the long cord of leather string that I had in my backpack. I cut and tie the string in my jacket, making it so I can store knives there. I have my vest, but it's better to have more weapons on you than less. 3 comes over, "Can I help you?"

"No, 3, I'm fine on my own." I tell him.

He crouches down anyway. "My name isn't 3 you know," he says. I really don't care either way. "It's Sasha."

"That's great," I say, I'm still tying holding places to the inside of my jacket.

Sasha takes my cutting knife from the ground, cuts himself a piece of leather, then he ties the string in through the little holes inside my jacket. When he's done, he's made 3 knife holding spots instead of just 1 at a time. He keeps helping me and I don't object, I mean, why would I? It takes 4x less time than it would if I was doing it by myself. When I'm done I say, "Um, thanks…"

"Sasha."

"I know," I say before walking away and leaping to the supply pile. I sit inside the supply pile area and put knife after knife in my jacket. Then I find sheaths for knives and attach them to my belt. I already have a sheath for my sword, but I add more (smaller ones) for knives. By the time I'm done, everyone else has finished their breakfast, and I'm loaded to the teeth in knives. I grab an extra knife before hopping over the landmines to get my share of breakfast.

"And she finally arrives," Marvel remarks.

"We were just talking about if you didn't get here soon, I'd eat your breakfast." Cato informs me.

"Well isn't that sweet of you?" I say, picking up my piece of toast and an apple. I eat both of these fairly quickly and wash it down with a few mouthfuls of water.

"She eats so lady-like." Glimmer says sarcastically.

I look up and glare at Glimmer, "Wanna go again, princess?"

"Alright!" Marvel says quickly. "Why don't we discuss who to hunt next?"

We all murmur in agreement.

"I think we should go after that big one from 11." Glimmer says, I roll my eyes.

"His name is Thresh." I say.

"Does it look like I care?"

Does it look like I want to skin you alive with my knives? If so, that's a yes.

"Anyway," Cato says, interrupting, "I personally don't want to go into that field, he's had about a day to scout it out, and as soon as we go in he could pick us off one by one."

"Are you saying that you're scared?" Marvel taunts Cato.

Cato's hand flies to his sword in his sheath, it's my turn to interrupt. "No, he's just being reasonable." Marvel looks surprised that I'm standing up for Cato; after all we 'don't get along.' I'm pretty sure they slept through Cato's whole fit, though I'm not sure how. "If we go into that field," I point towards the field. "Thresh knows his territory, and he's bigger than all of us, he killed Marino." I say pointedly to Sierra. "He's pretty good with a crescent sword, and while we stumble around in the tall grass, he can just kill us one at a time. So what Cato was saying, was actually smart, for once."

"Yeah," Sierra says, I wonder if she and Marino were friends or something. "We shouldn't go, Marino was good, and if Thresh killed Marino then it would be a bad idea to go into his territory. Let's just wait him out until he needs food or weapons."

"Reminding you that he already has a weapon and it's not like he's going to need a new one." Marvel says in an obviously voice to Sierra.

Well, sure he has a weapon and since he's from 11 he probably knows his edible grains pretty well, so we'll just have to wait and see, I guess." I say.

"Let's have a vote," Cato says, "Everyone who wants to chase after Thresh raise your hand."

Marvel and Glimmer raise their hands.

"And all who don't." Cato says.

Cato, Sierra, Peeta, Sasha, and I raise our hands.

"Great," I say cheerily, "it's 5 on 2, we win."

"That is totally not fair!" Glimmer exclaims.

"How is it not fair?" Sierra asks.

"It's obvious that he," Glimmer points furiously at the boy from 3, "Is in love with her," she points to me, wait what?! "So he'll be on her side no matter what!"

Sasha blushes and says, "I-I-I'm not in love!"

"Yeah," Glimmer says sarcastically, "We all gaze lovingly at each other here, and help each other out whole crafting with their jackets."

I see the muscles tighten in Cato's arms.

Before Sasha can say anything I say, "It's funny how much you've been watching me Glimmer, is it because you're jealous?"

"Of you? What the hell would I be jealous of you for?"

"Maybe because I got a better training score than you and I have better chance of winning these than you."

Glimmer takes the bow from around her and aims an arrow at me.

I smirk, "Go on, shoot me."

Glimmer lets go of the arrow, everyone gasps, Cato looks like he might strangle Glimmer, and I'll willingly let him do that. The arrow wizzes right over my shoulder. I smirk at Glimmer again. I don't even know why she chose a bow; it's obvious that she can't use one for her life. I mean I'm standing about 5 feet away from her and she can't even hit me. "Miss," I say, making my voice snarky.

Glimmer glares at me, and notches another arrow. "Alright," Cato says, probably doesn't want to risk my life again. "No need to go killing our allies."

"But Cato," Glimmer whines making the o longer.

"No, we still have other people out there to hunt, and then you can kill her." Like he would ever let Glimmer kill me.

A smile appears on Glimmer's face, she's probably thinking about the fun ways she can kill me. "Alright," She gives Cato a peck on the cheek. He looks just as surprised as I do.

We all disperse around the camp. I go make sure to tell Cato that I'm going into the forest, when he asks me if I need company I tell him no. I need to go and think, alone. I just walk aimlessly around in the forest for what seems like hours, until I come across a small clearing. I plop myself down in the clearing, close my eyes and soak in the warmth of the sunlight. Of course, I'm not an idiot, I have a knife in one hand, ready to throw, and I still have my jacket, vest and belt. I'm well equipped for a fight. I hear a faint rustle, my eyes flick open immediately, and I see a flash of red then nothing else. All the sudden realization hits me, red, that's the color of the girl from 5's hair. She was spying on me, for how long, I don't know.

**Are we feeling some tension between Clove and Glimmer? I think yes. Sneak Peeks on my website (link in bio) R&R! I love your feedback, no matter how many times I say that it'll still be true!**

**~Bookfanic~**


	10. Chapter 10: Useless Past Times :D

**Clove's POV**

I sit in the clearing until the sun begins to set, then I force myself up and leave. I'll be back; I call silently to the clearing. Great, now I'm talking to land, next thing you know, I'll think Glimmer is my best friend, I shiver at the thought. I make my way back to the camp, slowly, very slowly. I open my back pack and take out a match. I take a large thick stick from the ground and wrap some dried grass around it. It's dark by now, and I'm going to need something to see by. I strike the match, lighting my one-use-only torch. While I am making my way back, I hear a rustle, a loud one this time. I turn around and throw my knife, and then I duck a spear. The spear wizzes over my head, and into the darkness behind me, I pull out another knife. Just then, Marvel, Cato, Glimmer, and Peeta come into my eyesight. I lower the knife, "What the hell?" I ask.

The boys have the sense to look embarrassed; Glimmer just looks the same, snarky, annoying and beautiful. I hate her so much.

"Sorry," Marvel says. "We saw the light and well…"

"You thought you'd skewer an ally?" I ask.

"No, we thought you were another idiot who decided to light a fire…" Cato trails off.

"Yes, and it's such a good idea to go throwing weapons at people before looking."

"Lay off him," Glimmer says defensively. "It was you who decided to go off into the forest alone, for hours then decides to light a torch in the night."

I roll my eyes; she's an annoying idiotic bitch.

"Well, I'm well trained for an attack," I say. "You on the other hand, can't even shoot your weapon of choice at someone who is standing five feet away from you."

Glimmer pulls out an arrow and notches it in the sliver bow, "Wanna try it again?" she asks me, I think she's trying to sound threatening, but since I've seen an example of her shooting skills, I'm not scared the least bit.

I put my knife into my belt and stand with my arms out and my legs apart, "Go for it." I say.

Glimmer lets loose the arrow; it flies several feet off course to my left.

"Maybe you should try just holding the arrow in your hand." I tell her, "It would probably do you better to hold the arrows like a spear than shoot them."

Glimmer narrows her eyes at me, but by now she realizes that even if she threatens to shoot me again it won't do any good. I wonder if she realizes that I could have her dead in less than a second if I really wanted to. Well, I really want to, but I'll save her until there's no one left but those in the Alliance.

"Okay," Marvel says, "now that we got that handled with, let's go back to the camp, shall we?"

"Sure," I shrug, "Whatever."

-0_0-

The shifts are set up. Sierra and Peeta first, Marvel and I next, and Cato and Glimmer last. Each shift lasts 2 hours, giving everyone at least 4 hours to sleep. 3- I mean, Sasha, has tonight off. As soon as my head hits the sleeping bag, I'm out.

_I am in a sunny area where the sun is shining over the lake, causing it to look like a clear blue gem. The grass that surrounds the lake is a light green. Mountains surround this area, and there is only one house there. A great manor house sits near the lake; it is beautiful and magnificent in its solitude. I begin to walk towards the house; woods are around, with the great misty mountains that circle around this area it seems to be a small valley. This place is so beautiful and calm; it's somewhere where I'd like to live someday, if I can ever find it. There is wildlife in the woods, deer sprinting in the tree line, rabbits hopping around, there are even baby foxes playing together in the meadow. I sit down on the grass, it is soft like a cushion, I gaze around me and-_

"Clove, Clove," I jerk awake, there is pair of blue eyes staring down at me in the darkness. "It's ah, time for your shift." It's Peeta.

"Oh," I say. "Ok."

I roll up my sleeping bag and place it carefully in my pack. When I step out of the tent, Marvel is standing out there, waiting for me. "Finally," he says. He is grasping 3 spears in his hand, his brown hair is messy. "I'll watch that end," he points to the other side of the large tent, "you take that one." So once again I sit with my back on the side of the cold metal Cornucopia. I'm grateful for the heat-reflecting material the jackets are made of, it keeps me warm. Of course, I could light a fire, easy, but I'm afraid it might wake the others. Though, Marvel and Glimmer hadn't awoken when Cato was yelling at Sasha, but I know for a fact that Cato is a light sleeper at night, though in the mornings he sleeps like a rock.

I wish I could see better, I light a torch and hope I don't wake Cato up. Hoping over the land mines, I look around in the bins in the supply pile. There I find something, in a green bin; I find a pair of night vision glasses. These are very expensive and rare in 2, hardly anyone has them. I put the glasses on just to make sure I'm right about these, I am. I can see every detail that I could see in broad daylight. I see Marvel, sitting upright in a chair, and I see the large tent were most of us are sleeping at the moment. I am very happy at my find and look around to see if there's more. I find 1 more pair of the glasses. I pull out an apple from the pile too; a snack won't do me any harm. I walk over to Marvel, he looks up as I near him. I decided not to dowse the torch, as he would probably throw a spear at me if he didn't know who I was. I toss Marvel the glasses.

"What-?"

"Put them on," I instruct. "They're night vision glasses." I watch Marvel put the glasses on, and I extinguish my torch, no need for it anymore.

"Whoa," Marvel says, turning his head left to right, with the expression of a 5 year old that just got the new toy train he wanted.

"Alright," I say, "I'm going back to my spot." I lean back against the Cornucopia; the coldness of the metal keeps me awake. I look down in my hand; I also grabbed a wooden brick from the supply pile. It's light and soft, meaning that it was for some Tribute that needed to start a fire, but that's too bad since no other Tribute got and we're doing just fine with our fires. So I decide to carve the wooden brick. My watch goes off after 2 hours, but I'm not done my carving yet, so I tell Marvel to go to sleep, and I'll guard solo for a bit longer before I wake the others. Honestly I'm not feeling ecstatic at Glimmer and Cato guarding together anyway, so Marvel hands me the glasses and goes into the tent for sleep.

I sit up for about another hour and a half, carving the wood. When I'm done, I've sculpted a mountain lion. We have plenty of those in 2, so it looks pretty accurate. I used a smaller knife to scratch in fur lines, and make the details such as eyes and teeth (it's mouth is open.) I used a medium sized knife for the rest, shaving away from the light wooden brick, eventually sculpting a beautiful lion, with its mouth open in a roar. I tuck the lion in my pack; I don't know what I'll do with it. I feel sleep making my eye lids droop so I decide to go wake up Cato and Glimmer. My cheek feels itchy, so I decide to rub it with the back of my hand, mistake. I had totally forgotten about Rose's ring that she gave me; it hurts my cheek a little. I open the door to the tent, and shake Cato awake. "Wake up sleepy Cat." I whisper.

Cato slowly opens his eyes.

"Hey," I say to him.

"Hey," he yawns.

"Time for your shift," I tell him.

"No, duh, why else would you wake me?" he asks, climbing sluggishly out of his sleeping bag. "Where's Marvel?"

"Oh, he's asleep."

"Wow, he falls asleep quicker than you."

"No, I don't think he does, he's been asleep for a good hour and a half or so."

"So he left you to do your shift alone?" Cato asks me angrily, going all protective boyfriend on me.

"No, I told him to go to sleep because our shift was over."

"Wait, what?"

"I stayed up for a little extra time."

"A little? What time is it?"

"About, 4:30." I tell him.

"What?! Clove! You were supposed to wake me an hour ago!"

"Yeah… Well… I was doing a project and I wasn't tired, in fact I'm willing to stay up the last half an hour if you'd rather sleep."

"No, you're going to go into that sleeping bag," Cato points to the one he just climbed out of, "and sleep in, extra."

"Ugh, you sound like my mother," not true, but like what a mother should be like in my imagination. "And if I get up at the same time as everyone else?"

"I will lock you in the tent until you get some sleep."

I roll my eyes.

"Go to sleep, Clove, I'll go get up Glimmer."

I do as Cato says; I take off my backpack and lay it next to me. Then I climb into the sleeping bag, it is still warm from Cato sleeping in it, I find it nice, oppose to sitting against the cold Cornucopia. I then pull out a knife from my vest and clutch it in my hand, kind of like a lethal teddy bear.

-0_0-

When I wake up I check my watch, it's 8. I slept in until 8! I leap up, grab my backpack and run out of the tent. "And Sleeping Ugly awakens," Glimmer's annoying voice says. "Who kissed you? Was it 3?"

I see Sasha blushing furiously, I ignore him and Glimmer. "Why didn't anyone wake me up?" I demand glaring at everyone, one at a time.

Sierra shrinks under my glare, even though she's a year older than me and about 5 inches taller. "Cato said he's kill us if anyone woke you."

I turn my glare to Cato, who smirks. "Well we couldn't have you sleeping on the job, could we?"

I sigh, and hop over to our supply pile, ignoring the rest of my allies. I grab an apple and a handful of crackers for breakfast. After I'm done eating (I try to ignore the fact that everyone is watching me eat in silence) Cato says, "Should we go hunting?"

We all agree, we leave 3 behind to guard, as we don't exactly need to fiercely protect our stuff, thanks to the landmines.

Hunting turns out to be a bore, we find nothing. No signs or traces of anyone anywhere. So around 4 we stop and head back to camp. We return to camp around 5. Sasha is sitting in a chair, when he sees us, he stands up.

"I didn't hear any canons-"

"Oh, shut up." Cato says, shoving Sasha aside, he's in a bad mood, since we didn't find anything.

Sasha falls to the ground, my instincts kick in before anything else, I help Sasha up off the ground. Looking up, I see Cato watching us the intensity of his gaze could probably burn a hole to the center of the earth.

"Anyway, we're hungry," I say quickly, "Any ideas for dinner, anyone?" No one says anything. "Alright…" I say a bit awkwardly. "I'll make something then."

Hopping over to the Cornucopia I find some flour and salt. I remember an old-fashioned recipe that we used to have occasionally in 2. It's called chicken and dumplings, (A/N first thing that popped into my head ok? No it's not my favorite food.) It was never my favorite, but I liked it all right. Rose was always the good one at cooking, not me, but I try anyway. I tell everyone to wait here while I venture out into the forest. I like being in here, I almost forget that I'm in fighting to the death games, almost. Anyway, I find a father plump turkey-looking-ish type thing and I have it down with a dagger in its side in no time. I cut off its head to relive the thing from its pain. Next I pluck off the feathers (takes a while) and then I return to camp. I mix together the flour and salt in a bowl then slowly I add purified water to the mix, eventually making sloppy dough. I'm making a nice dinner in the Hunger Games, who would've thought? I can almost feel the people at home laughing, am I fighting? Nope I am mixing together a messy dough. When I'm in the middle of mixing the dough, Peeta walks over.

"Hey, can I help or something?" he asks.

"Uh…. Sure…" I say, "Could you mix this?" I'm pointing at the dough.

"Sure," Peeta willingly sits down, rinses his hands off with some water from the bucket nest to me and plunges them into the dough kneading it.

After I rinse my hands from the sticky dough, I see that Peeta is still kneading the dough with ease, "wow," I say, "you're good at that."

Peeta laughs, "Thanks, back home my family owns a bakery so I guess I know my dough."

I let out a little laugh, and then I go to start a fire. I take a pot from the supply pile and fill it with water, which I sit in the fire. When the water boils I put up the just-cubed-by-me turkey-thing in, then Peeta and I have fun plopping the dough in lumps into the boiling water. Not the most elegant way of making it, but it's something.

Luckily no one attacks us while I make dinner. It's really kind of awkward since I suck at cooking, and I'm in a fight-to-the-death games and I am cooking chicken and dumplings. I bet Brutus and Enobaria have already face-palmed themselves many times. I wonder what our sponsors are thinking at the moment. I know that Cato and I have sponsors, we have to. I mean, seriously? I've already killed my share of people, and our scores are bound to have impressed at least someone.

After we plop all the dough into the water, Peeta and I go to rinse our hands off in the nearby lake. Somehow we end up having a water flicking war at each other, that is, until we remember the soup and rush over to the pot. Fortunately, nothing is over cooked. Peeta helps me carefully take the pot off the fire, using 2 spears borrowed from Marvel. I'm pretty sure that Marvel was offended when we asked him for 2 of his spears for cooking, but whatever. Once the food is off the fire, I grab some forks and bowls from the Cornucopia (it's really nice having the majority of helpful things from the Capitol isn't it?) and ladle out some food for everyone.

Peeta helps me hand the food out. When I turn my back I hear Glimmer saying something snarky and rude about me cooking to Cato. It takes all my will power not to turn around and drag her by her hair to the lake and push her head under until she drowns. Finally I'm able to sit down with everyone else and eat, my stomach is growling ferociously.

The stuff isn't like Rose makes it, but it's a ton better than Rex could've done. I choke on a piece of whatever bird it is, thinking of Rex's cooking. Cato pats me heavily on the back when I choke.

"Owe Cat; I'm not a baby you know."

"You were choking," Cato points out.

"Not really, I just came across a…. amusing thought."

"Care to share?" Glimmer asks; she's making a big deal about how horrible my cooking is, whenever she takes a bite she fake gags and clutches her throat. What proves Glimmer's act is an act is that if it truly made her feel that way, she'd stop eating, but she keeps devouring her food.

"Fine but you wouldn't get it," I tell her. "I was imagining my brother trying to cook."

"Is he any good?" Sierra asks.

"No," I chuckle; knowing Rex is watching this right now. "He's horrible."

**Useless cooking chapter, yay! Lol, going down (up?) to Maryland today, yay? I don't really wangt to go, but it's not really my choice so…. So next six reviews I'll post another chapter, though Im warning you, if they're in the next 6 hours or so I can't post cuz I'm driving. Sneak Peek at my website :D xoxo R&R **

**~Bookfanic~**


	11. Chapter 11: The Fire

**Clove's POV **

Tonight I have to take the last watch, since apparently I am 'incompetent at being able to tell when my turn's done,' according to Cato. The watches are Sierra and Sasha, Cato and Marvel, then Peeta and me. Glimmer gets to sleep tonight.

There were no killings today which worries me, wouldn't want the Capitol citizens to get less interested because none of us are being brutally killed, no that just wouldn't do. I'm actually worried because if the Capitol citizens get bored, the Game Makers decide to 'interfere' by coming up with a brutal way to push 2 groups or tributes together. I don't want that to happen, so that means that someone has to die, soon.

-o_o-

Peeta and I sit side-by-side during our shift; we wear the night vision glasses too. I know that we shouldn't be sitting like this, but no one has attacked us yet so why not? I can feel that Peeta has dozed off about an hour into the shift, I let him sleep, nothing is happening. I hop over to the supply pile and grab another fire starter wood brick. No one is using these, there's no need, because we have matches and logs, why in the world would we need the fire starters?

I begin to shave the brick, I don't even notice the sun rising, I'm too absorbed in my carving. When I'm tapped on the shoulder, I almost jump a mile into the air, I turn quickly, knife in hand, Peeta sits next to me, awake.

"Morning," I say to him.

"Mornin," Peeta says. "What are you doing?"

"Oh… just ah, carving."

"What are you carving?" he takes a closer look at it.

I have started to carve a bear standing on its hind legs. I have the basic body shape carved out.

"Wow, that's good." Peeta says.

I snort, "Yeah right."

"No, I'm serious, I like it." Peeta says.

"Really?" I'm skeptical that anyone could like anything that I've made.

"Yeah really," Peeta says, there's no mockery in his voice.

"Well, I made another one too, I finished that one." I say.

"Can I see it?" Peeta asks.

"Uh, sure," I pull the mountain lion from my pack.

Peeta takes it in his hands and studies it. "What is it? A cat?"

"Sort of, it's called a mountain lion; we have tons in 2, since we live in the mountains."

"Oh," Peeta runs his hands along the lion's small body. "This feels so… real. It's almost like it could come to life any second in my hand."

I smile a little, "thanks." There's an awkward silence that follows.

"Um, here's your lion and bear back." Peeta says, handing me my 2 carvings, I put them delicately in my bag.

"I should go wake the others; we're going to go hunting today." I say.

-0_0-

By the time everyone is awake and has had breakfast, the sun is just barely up in the sky, it's 7 in the morning. We all have decided to yet again, leave Sasha behind to guard, as he can't fight well and would just be a dead weight if we were to get in a fight. Then the 6 of us head off into the forest, weapons in hand. We've been adventuring around for about 30 minutes when we hear a screeching noise, it's a bird. All of our heads turn around quickly to the noise; there is a wall of fire coming towards us.

(A/N I wanted to end it here, but for your sakes I didn't)

Everyone turns and runs any way that they can to get away from the hot flames. I'm running as fast as I can to my left, I have no idea where the others went or if anyone is ok. I don't know if I could hear a cannon blast through the screaming of the animals that are also running from the flames. Oh my god, a thought comes to my head, Cato I stop abruptly, the fire is like 10 yards behind me and quickly gaining speed. I can feel its intense heat from here. What if Cato is dead? There's no way that I can survive without him. Then I remind myself that it's highly doubtful that he's dead, and it won't help him if I end up dead. So I turn around and keep running.

Then the luckiest thing happens, the cut I got in my side from the stupid Tribute with an axe reopens. I scream in pain and stop, but the momentum that I had causes me to crash into a fallen over tree and trip. I let out a yell of surprise.

"Clove!" I hear my name being called, it's Cato. "Clove!"

"I'm over here!" I almost scream; the fire is getting closer. I pull myself up, and try to force myself to keep running, towards the sound of Cato's voice. But me running is just tearing the cut open more and more, the heat is not helping the pain. I fall over when I can't run anymore. I see the fire coming, I prepare myself to die. I close my eyes, just then Cato appears at my side. "Clove!" he exclaims. "Clove, open your eyes, please."

I obediently open my eyes.

"Can you stand?" Cato asks me.

I shake my head, and wince, shaking my head even made my side hurt.

"Alright," Cato says determinedly, he can see the fire coming too. "I'll carry you." Before I can protest or anything, Cato picks me up and carries me bridal-style, it's actually rather embarrassing. But now's not the time to be thinking about looks. Cato runs quickly, away from the fire. I see something coming towards us, a ball of fire, "Cato!" I exclaim. "Duck!" Cato ducks just as the fire ball flies over our heads, causing our hair singe a little. Cato runs away from the flame, neither of us cares where just away to safety, for each other, not ourselves.

We eventually end up in a clearing. Cato sets me down on the forest floor, we have no idea where we are, but the fire has died away. I gasp as he sets me down, the pain in my side flaring. We're both coughing furiously from the smoke.

"Lift up your shirt," Cato instructs.

"Are you serious, Cat? I don't think now's the time." I joke, though I life my shirt up so he can see the wound.

"Don't you have like a first aid kit in your bag?" he asks me. I nod.

Cato walks around and unzips my backpack, pulling out the first aid box. He walks around me, holding the special capitol medicine. Of course, he takes one of my water pouches and a corner of the blanket and wipes the blood away (OW!), then he pours the alcohol on it again, (OW! X10000), puts the medicine on it, (ow) and bandages it. I pull my shirt back down. Cato takes a swig from one of the water pouches. He grins at me, "For once you looking like an idiot carrying this bag with you everywhere is worth it."

"I do not look like an idiot," I say defensively, "I look precautious."

Cato takes another long sip, "Whatever you say," he's still smiling.

Since he's standing and I'm sitting, I am now much shorter than him. I smack his leg, "Oh shut up."

He smiles and comes down into a kneeling position, "You feeling better?"

'Yeah," I say it's true the medicine is actually helping. "Thank you," I say to him, placing my hand on his left shoulder, Cato winces. "What? What is it?"

"Oh, nothing, I just got a little too close to the fire-"

"Take off your jacket." I tell him.

"Really, it's nothing-"

"Take it off," I demand. Obediently Cato pulls off his jacket, revealing a deep burn. I wince at the sight of it and raise my eyebrows at him, "I really need to teach you the definition of nothing."

Cato gives me a small smile.

I open the first aid kit which is lying in front of me; the expensive burn medicine is still in it in its little pot. I unscrew the lid and slather a generous amount onto Cato's arm. I can literally see him un-tense, he sighs with relief.

"Is there anywhere else?" I ask him.

"Just a small burn on my leg," Cato admits.

"If it's not small, Cat, I swear I will spend 2 days teaching you word definitions, now where on your leg?"

Cato pulls up his pant leg; right under his knee is a small burn, "Told you it was small."

I roll my eyes, and put some burn medicine on his leg.

Just as I'm screwing the lid back on the medicine, people come running into the clearing. I quickly stuff the kit back in my bag and pull out a knife.

**Sneak peeks on my website, (link in bio) I'll post another chapter when I get more reviews! :D BTW You guys just make my day with all your amazing reviews I love you guys so much! **

**~BOOKFANIC~**


	12. Chapter 12 Trees and Wasps

**Ok this chapter is giving me so much trouble! I cant seem to post it! I tried re-posting it and I still couldn't seem to find it so sorry guys if any of you could see it, but here's it is. **

**Clove's POV**

It's Marvel, Glimmer, Sierra, and Peeta. They all look beaten up and singed.

"There you two are!" Sierra exclaims out of breath, her voice is raspy from the smoke, Cato and I have had time to clear out our lungs, apparently they haven't.

"We've been running from the fire for the last half an hour and we find you two relaxing in a forest glade?!" Marvel exclaims.

"No," I say calmly. "We just got here about 10 minutes ago."

"Wait a minute," Glimmer narrows her eyes, "What were you two doing?"

"We were treating out wounds from the fire," Cato says pulling his jacket back on. It's the truth, though we were also as Chelsey would say 'flirting'.

Glimmer is glaring at me, "What?" I ask her innocently. "Is there something wrong with treating wounds?"

She turns her head away, I'm guessing because her stupid brain can't come up with a good retort.

"Anyway, back on subject," I say cheerfully. "The Game Makers chased us here for a reason, don't you think? The only reason there could be is because not enough people have been killed in the last 24 hours, which also means that they chased at _least _one tribute over here too. We should go look around."

"Alright, that sounds reasonable," Sierra says.

Everyone else save Glimmer agrees.

Cato holds out his hand for me to take, I take it without a seconds hesitation. He hoists me up, on my feet.

"I hear the sound of water." Cato says. "Let's go check that out, that would be one of my first places to go to escape a fire."

We all agree and follow Cato to a spring-fed pool where- I almost don't see her, but she's there. Katniss is resting in the pool. I give Peeta a look, he sees her too. Peeta steps on a large branch 'accidently' making a loud cracking noise. Katniss jerks awake. She sees us and splashes out of the pool, and flies into the underbrush by the pond.

"There!" Glimmer exclaims in her raspy smoke-inhaled voice, well duh. "There she is! There she is!" Oh my gods of whatever, you are an _idiot _Glimmer we all see her!

We all chase after her, I see she's slowed down, but so are we.

"She's mine!" Glimmer exclaims.

"Not if I get her first!" Cato replies. "Where you gonna go?" he calls to her, Cato has a special dislike for Katniss since she has showed him up more than once.

"Mine!" Glimmer exclaims, she sounds like a freaking ass idiot.

"Someone found a pond!" Sierra calls gleefully, I guess most of them don't like Katniss, since she showed them up; I don't have any different dislike for her I want Glimmer gone more than Katniss. "Someone found a pond!" Do they realize how idiotic they sound right now? They're acting like children.

We chase her across the small little pond and into the woods on the other side. "There she is!" Glimmer exclaims again. We know Glimmer you i-d-i-o-t. I bed she doesn't even know how that's spelled.

"Yeah!" Marvel replies enthusiastically.

"Here we go!" Cato says, what the hell does that even mean? "Where you going, huh?"

Katniss has stopped and is frantically looking around.

"Get her, Cato!" Glimmer exclaims, oh just shut up already!

"All right, let's go!" Cato cries. Oh my god, you're making a fool of our District right now, Cato. I mentally face palm myself while I run. My side is aching.

Everyone is whooping and laughing, I join in to look normal. Though, I remember my deal with Peeta, but I'm serious if it comes down to me and Cato or him and Katniss I'll save Cato every time.

"Where you going, baby?" Marvel calls out. Have they ever heard of grammar?

Glimmer laughs again, it's so perfectly annoying.

"Three o'clock." Sierra says.

We arrive at the base of a tall tree that Katniss is now scaling, she looks in pain.

"Way to go, Girl on Fire!" Cato taunts.

"We got her!" Glimmer exclaims, no really Glimmer? I just thought that we were chasing her for fun.

"Miss Everdeen, I'm gonna get you!" Cato exclaims. Even though he's my boyfriend, I really wish that he would just stop talking right now.

"That's not going to help you up there!" Glimmer calls up.

"Where are you going?" I call; at least I use correct grammar.

(A/N those lines were directly from the movie, since the book says nothing about what they say while chasing her, though I changed who said what line quite a bit, I know.)

We all stand at the base of the tree while Katniss continues climbing. She stops and stares at us for a while, then she _smiles_. "How's everything with you?" she calls down cheerfully. This just seems to fuel the fire of hate that the rest of my companions have against Katniss. Everyone else looks taken aback,.

"Well enough," Cato calls back up, "Yourself?"

"It's been a bit warm for my taste," ah I see, she's entertaining the Capitol. "The air's better up here. Why don't you come up?"

"I think I will," Cato says. I cover my eyes, I can't watch this, he's way bigger than Katniss, there's no way he can make it up that high.

"Here, take this, Cato," Glimmer says, offering Cato her bow and arrows with a flirty smile. I could punch her teeth out right now.

I see Katniss staring intensely down at the bow and arrows, I sneak a glance at Peeta, he is watching Katniss with a look of worry and awe on his face. Though, when Katniss tries to make eye-contact with Peeta, he begins to polish the knife he got from the Cornucopia with the edge of his shirt.

"No," Cato says, pushing away Glimmer's bow, I inwardly smirk at that. "I'll do better with my sword." It's true he's amazing with the sword.

Cato hoists himself up the tree and once he's like 10 feet up, Katniss begins to climb again, scrambling higher and higher, like a squirrel. A big squirrel with braided hair that annoys the heck out of my boyfriend.

"Glimmer, stop staring at Cato's ass," Sierra says. You know what? I've decided I like Sierra.

Glimmer blushes and looks down.

"Go get her, Cato!" I call up to him, what? I'm supporting my boyfriend when I know he'll fail, he needs _someone _to at least sound as they believe in him.

"Cato! You're so close!" Glimmer calls up, apparently she got over her blush phase.

"Kill her!" I call, Peeta gives me a glance, what? I know Cato won't make it anyway.

"Come on, Cato!" Glimmer calls. Ugh! Shut up already!

"She's right there!" Marvel calls.

"Go, Cato!" Sierra calls, kinda sounds like she's saying 'go team!'

"He's got you." Glimmer calls.

"Kill her Cato!" I yell, "Kill her!"

"Go! Go!" Marvel yells.

"Take her down!" Sierra calls.

"You got this, Cato!" Glimmer calls, no… he really doesn't.

We all hear a crack, and see Cato flailing down towards us, and we all have the good sense to back up, even Glimmer. Cato hits the ground, hard, it takes all my strength not to rush to him as Glimmer does. After she makes sure that 'Cato-boo-boo' is ok, Glimmer stands up, and tries to climb the tree. Though, she stops when the branches begin to crack under her feet. Glimmer notches an arrow in her bow. I turn away this is embarrassing. The arrow whizzes past Katniss and gets lodged in a tree near Katniss. Katniss reaches out and grabs the arrow, waving it teasingly above Glimmer's head. I kind of like this girl.

Cato moves closer to me, and says angrily, "I know that you can climb the tree."

I look at him surprised, yes I can but I'm keeping my promise to Peeta. "I can't, my side," I grasp my non-hurting at the moment side.

"Oh," Cato says. "I'm sorry for accusing you," it breaks my heart to lie to him.

I know that Peeta can hear us. "Oh, let her stay up there. It's not like she's going anywhere." He says, finally some words of truth. "We'll deal with her in the morning."

"Fine," Cato growls. "Somebody light a fire." He shoves his way past Peeta.

Turns out _I _get to be the one to light the fire, joy. We are all grouped around the fire and eating a few apples, crackers, and other things from my bag, not so useless now is it? Peeta this whole time is staring up at Katniss, I watch as he absentmindedly takes a bite from his apple.

The sun has set and we are all sitting camped beneath this tree with a nice warm fire. Glimmer is flirting with Cato and he is smiling back at her and like burning his sword for I have no clue. Once ac cocky arrogant showoff always a cocky arrogant showoff. I turn away from the two of them, and pull out a few knives. A lizard is passing by so I figure why not? I throw my first night knife and it hits the lizard just below its neck, killing it. Just to practice aiming I throw a few more knives, I hit the lizard's small body every time.

The anthem plays, and the Capitol seal appears in the sky. No deaths today, but I hope us treeing someone will entertain the Capitol before the Game Makers decide to send something else in. After a while of Cato heating up the tip of his sword, Sierra fiddling with grass blades, Marvel just sitting there blankly, we all decide to go to sleep, leaving Glimmer to stay awake and guard. Glimmer has a full night's sleep last night so she _should _be able to stay up tonight.

I don't bother taking out my sleeping bag, I'm sleeping next to the warm fire on a soft bed of leaves and pine needles and such. Actually the real reason is that I know that Katniss is smart, if I need to run, I don't want to have to jump out of a sleeping bag. I will never place my full trust in Glimmer to guard me in my sleep, more like let someone cut my throat out. I keep a knife tight in my grasp just in case.

-0_0-

I wake up to a loud crashing noise. Looking around wildly I see a swarm of –something. I don't really realize what it is until one stings me. _Tracker Jackers._

"They're Tracker Jackers!" I scream, I can already feel the pain of the sting, "To the Lake!" I receive 3 more stings quite quickly, 2 in the leg and one in the arm. I keep screaming, the pain…. Glimmer screams for help, of course no one does, I would go back for Cato, but I wouldn't help anyone else in this Alliance in this situation. Anyway Glimmer would be the _last _person I'd want to help. I keep running to the lake too, the only time I look back is to make sure that Cato is ok. He's following me in close pursuit, Marvel and Peeta are also. Glimmer and Sierra seemed to have…. Fallen behind. What is also following us is a humongous swarm of Tracker Jackers, about to overtake us.

We finally get outside the woods; I've received several more stings by the time I jump into the lake. I keep my head under for as long as possible, the Tracker Jackers won't wait above the water for me; they're too stupid for that. I hold my head under and I can feel the pain of each and every sting I received. I don't even want to think about how many stings I got, it would somehow make it worse. I watch the cloud of Tracker Jackers fly away after a while, going to find a new place to build a nest I guess. I slowly surface above the water, watching Peeta sprint towards the forest looking like a swollen lump. Cato runs quickly after him, since Cato has a bigger body, it will take longer and last less time from the venom to spread throughout his system. The venom will get thinner as it spreads, he's lucky, he won't have the visions as bad as me. I'm tiny; I will have a whole gallon of venom in me by now.

I feel a burning in the stings and I see something running at me across the water, I leave Marvel to float face up in the water and swim as quick as I can to the bank. I then bolt away from the large dark shadow that is chasing me. I sprint into the forest and away. I see Tracker Jackers all around me, swarming angrily. I scream and keep running; I keep running until I literally fall over from my swollen leg. I face plant on the ground and only have enough time to roll myself over before the nightmares kick in.

_I stand in the beautiful meadow though not the one that I dreamt of before. I begin to run toward a forest for safety, from what I do not know. Suddenly in front of my feet a body appears. I roll it over; Cato's bloody face is staring blankly at the sky. I scream; his eyes stare blankly at me, unrecognizing. Then blood appears everywhere, seeping out of the ground, the water in the pond next to me turns to blood, everywhere I look, blood. More bodies appear, Rose, Rex, Mom, Joce, Shawna, and anyone who I've ever seen. They seem to be everywhere, soaking the valley in thick red substance. Then the skies begin to thunder, and the rain falls, only it's not rain, it is yet again blood. There's nothing I can do, I can no longer move, and I am stuck here, to drown in blood. The valley is quickly filling up with the hot thick fluid; soon I will be just another lifeless body here…._

**Lots of blood, blood, blood, blood. As Always, sneak peeks in my website, and feel free to R&R! Also when I get 10 more reviews I'll post another chapter, xoxo ~Bookfanic~**


	13. Chapter 13: Waking up

-0_0-

**Cato's POV**

The nightmares were horrible, death, pain, loss, sadness. I wake up shivering with my back to the Cornucopia. I have many Tracker Jacker stings; one is right under my left eye. Looking around, I see Marvel and the boy from 3 is sleeping fitfully on the ground. I don't see Clove anywhere. I know for a fact that Glimmer and Sierra are dead; I saw their dead ruined bodies as I ran back to the clearing.

_Flash back_

"_To the Lake! To the Lake!" Clove screams. _

_We all struggle to run to the lake, the angry wasps hot on our tail. Glimmer screams for help, obviously none of us turn back. I also hear Sierra's screams, she's crying out for someone I don't know, both the girls are behind us until one moment they aren't. _

_I run right behind Clove, with Marvel next to me and Peeta behind. The Tracker Jacker stings burn and I feel like we'll never make it out alive. Finally we make it to the lake; the four of us jump in. We have brought the wasps to our camp; do I care at the moment? No. A moment after we jump into the lake, 3 joins us, he already has some swelling begin to develop. Oops. _

_After the wasps have flown away, I climb out, running after Peeta. "I will kill her. I will kill her." I say repeatedly to myself. _

_I slash my way through a bush that is standing in my way. Peeta has a lowered spear and Katniss is scrambling away, holding the silver bow that was once Glimmer's. "Run!" Peeta screams. _

_Katniss is gone before I can catch her. "What the hell?!" I yell at Peeta. "You said you were on our side! You said you hated her!" I should have guessed; the way he looked at Katniss every time he saw her, it was the same way I look at Clove. _

_I never wanted him in the Alliance; it was Clove who voted him in. I now wonder if she knew his plan all along, they were in the woods together that one time. No, Clove wouldn't do that. I tell myself, she's on my side not some traitor from 12's. _

_Peeta looks nervous, but he holds his spear tightly. It is the spear that Clove used during the bloodbath. I remember watching as Clove bandaged his wounds afterwards. I know right then I felt a spark of jealousy. It has been growing ever since, Clove going into the forest with Love Boy alone, Clove cooking with Lover Boy, Clove getting helped by 3 with her jacket, Clove helping 3 up when I pushed him over. I haven't mentioned any of this to Clove, she hasn't really given me a chance anyway, she always seems to be with someone, and when she's not, she says she wants to be alone. _

_I love Clove; I remember telling her that, at the time I had been so relieved that she had forgiven me that I hadn't noticed she didn't say it back. What if Clove didn't actually love me? What if she is just playing me? I've seen the way that 3 looks at her, it's the same way I do. Clove doesn't even realize that 3 is pining over her, but the rest of us do. I would kill 3, but it would upset Clove, she wouldn't want to break her deal._

_Out of my jealous rage more than my rage at Peeta betraying us, I lunge at Peeta, giving out a yell. I bring my sword down, to split open his head, but to my surprise, Peeta blocks my attempt with the spear. I keep aiming strikes at him, but every time he blocks. It's really starting to get on my nerves. Finally I kick out his feet from under him, bringing my sword down to kill Peeta. Get rid of one of the many problems in my life. But Peeta moves, though, not fast enough. I slash him across the thigh, Peeta cries out in pain. I can tell that I made a deep cut, probably to the bone. Peeta throws his spear at me, I duck, and this gives Peeta a chance to drag himself away from me. I could chase him, but I made a deep cut, he'll be dead soon enough. _

_I stagger back to the camp; the venom is finally beginning to start giving me visions. Just as I get back to the camp and make my way to the Cornucopia, I see Marvel climbing from the lake before I completely black out. _

Where is Clove? I'm worried, I've been asleep for, who knows how long and Clove is nowhere to be seen. If I slept through the Tribute-death-thing I wouldn't be able to know if she was dead. Clove is so small; with fewer stings that Glimmer received she could probably die from the venom. It is almost nine, I checked my watch. It is from the Cornucopia, a fancy one from the Capitol. I'm not sure if anyone besides Clove and I grabbed one, but we did. Clove was the one who forced me to wear one, but it is incredibly useful.

I'm really worried about her, I mean where is she? Then I see a dragged trail of dirt from the lake to the forest, maybe she ran into there before the hallucinations started. I run into the forest, hollering Clove's name at the top of my lungs. The only weapon I have is my sword, nothing else, "CLOVE!"

Clove turns around, seeing me she smiles. Clove's arms are swollen along with every other part of her body.

"Why are you out here?!" I demand.

"Well, I just woke up out here, in the middle of nowhere. I faintly remember running here before I fainted from the venom."

"Oh," I don't know what else to say.

"Oh," she repeats, smiling, she's mimicking my voice. "We should get back to camp."

I put out my hand; Clove raises her eyebrows at me. "What?" I ask her. "There'd no one else around right now."

Clove takes my hand, in an instant we're kissing. I've missed Clove's kisses, the softness of her lips, and the feel of her body so close to mine. I'm sure the Capitol citizens are not expecting this. Clove's heartbeat is sped up, I'm sure mine is too. After a while we pull away from each other with difficulty, "Well that was… unexpected."

I smirk, "And enjoyable."

"And enjoyable," Clove agrees. "Now we actually have to get back before the others start to get suspicious."

Does she know? "Um, there's only Marvel and 3 left." I say.

Clove raises her eyebrows, "Sierra's dead?"

"Yeah, so is Glimmer."

Clove smirks, "I already know about Glimmer, but I didn't realize Sierra was dead. I guess that just means 2 less people towards home."

I shrug, "I guess."

"Well…" Clove says.

"Let's go," I say, though I'd be willing to stay here for years more with Clove.

**Short Chapter….. Sneak peeks in my website the link is in the bio, as always. Review! I love reading them, I'll post another chapter when I get 10 more reviews. xoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxxxoooo ~ Bookfanic~**


	14. Chapter 14: Green Leaves

**Cato's POV**

Back at the camp, Marvel is still asleep, but 3 is up. He looks relived to see us. "I was so worried – "

"Oh, shut up," I say irritably, I'm sure he'd want nothing more than to see me dead, he was worried for Clove.

I feel Clove shoot me a glare, what was that for? I just told 3 to shut up, why is she so protective of him? Does she… like him? No way, she wouldn't…

"Here," 3 takes a step towards Clove. "We should get the stingers out." He takes another step towards her.

I step protectively in-front of Clove. "I can do that." I growl.

"Are you sure that you can?" 3 asks back, the nerve. "Your hands are so big, they might hurt her more than needed."

"Yeah, I can." I say, glaring daggers at the boy.

"Maybe we should ask Clove."

We both turn to Clove, who has an extremely awkward look on her face, it turns to annoyance quickly. "Oh my god, we're in the middle of death games and you can't even agree on who should get the honor of pulling stingers out of my skin. We are on a team, at least try to compromise."

"You still didn't answer the question." 3 says quietly.

"The answer to the question? You want it? I can pull them out myself; I'm not some child who needs help every step of the way." Clove stomps off in annoyance.

"Great," I glare at 3. "You made her mad."

"You had the same amount of part in that as I." 3 argues back.

Just one quick motion with my arm and he could be dead by now, but 3 knows I can't. I can't because Clove would be mad at me and 3 knows it.

I give him one last glare before going to find Clove. I look around the camp for her and don't see her. At first I think she's tromped off into the forest, but then I hear a noise. It's a strangled sort of gasp. I walk towards the sound, finding Clove sitting on top of an empty bin in the back of the Cornucopia, pulling out stingers with a pair of tweezers that were in her 1st aid kit. She looks up at the sound of my foot steps in the Cornucopia.

"Hey," I say.

She looks back down at her arm and plunges her tweezers into a swollen lump, gasping loudly when she yanks the stinger out.

"Let me help you," it hurts me to see Clove in pain like this, I walk over and reach for the tweezers. Clove puts them just out of my reach. "Come on, Clove, you can't be seriously mad at me for trying to protect you from that little creep."

"1 I'm not mad at you for that, 2 he's not a creep he's just different from what we're used to."

"1," I say copying her, "he is creepy and 2 then what are you mad at me about?"

"What do you think?" she asks me, I have no idea! If I knew I wouldn't have asked!

"I honestly have no idea."

"I'm mad at you because you don't seem to think that I can fight for myself. If I don't want Sasha to help me with my wounds, I am perfectly fine defending myself."

"I know it's just…."

She raises her eyebrows at me, widening her perfect green eyes. "Just?"

"This sounds so stupid."

"Well you can't just go off in the middle of a sentence like that, it's against the law."

"What law?" I ask.

"I don't know, a law I just created," she smiles. "Now finish the sentence."

"It's just that I'm like your boyfriend, and I feel like they are supposed to like protect their girlfriends."

Clove stares at me then bursts out laughing.

"Well, you took that gracefully," I say sarcastically.

Clove clutches her side and tries unsuccessfully to stop laughing.

"Well then," I say turning to leave.

"No, wait," Clove says grabbing my arm. When her fingers tough my arm I get a shot of adrenaline. "I'm sorry," she says. "It's just I've never had a boyfriend before… I'm not really sure how the whole thing works."

"Well," I say, I've had a few girlfriends, but I dumped them all pretty quickly, since I pretty much always had my eyes on Clove. "First of all, you're supposed to let your boyfriend pull out Tracker Jacker stingers for you."

Clove laughs, "Oh really? How many times have you done that with your girlfriends?"

"Oh," I nod my head, "Plenty of times."

"You're so romantic." Clove says holding the tweezers out for me.

I take them. She holds out her arm, where one swollen lump remains with a stinger in it. I carefully take the tweezers and pull the stinger out. I feel Clove's fingernails dig into my shoulder. I take out about 10 more stingers from Clove's legs, arms, and stomach. Most of her stomach was protected though, since she had a bandage on, adding to the shield the clothing already provided. After I'm done, the swelling already is beginning to go down. "There," I say as I pull out the last stinger.

I put out my hand for Clove to take, she takes it, and I pull her up. She holds out her hand, I place the tweezers in her flat palm. "You know, what kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't pull out your stingers?" she asks me.

"No, I'm fine really- "

"Sit," she instructs.

I obey and sit on the bin.

Clove starts by pulling the stinger out from right below my eye that really hurt. Nest she works her way down my arms, legs, and stomach, pulling out stingers 1 by 1. I understand Clove's pain now, pulling out the stinger does not feel good. When Clove is finally done pulling the stingers out it's noon, we both get up, Clove tucking the tweezers back in her backpack, and walk out of the Cornucopia.

3 is watching us from a distance, and Marvel is still asleep.

"C'mon we should wake up Marvel," Clove says, grasping my elbow and pulling me towards the twitching body on the ground.

"Marvel, wake up!" I yell.

He stirs slightly.

"Marvel," Clove kneels down and shakes Marvel's shoulders gently, "Wake up."

His eyes fly open; there is sweat on his forehead.

"What?" He sits up quickly, almost whacking Clove in the head with his head. He also swings his spear around; I don't really appreciate him trying to skewer my girlfriend.

"You were under Tracker Jacker venom," Clove says gently. "You're ok now."

"Glimmer?" He asks; Marvel looks behind us as if thinking he might be able to see Glimmer hiding behind us. Maybe Peeta isn't the only one in these games who had unrequited love.

Clove shakes her head. "Didn't make it," I can tell she's resisting the urge to celebrate, saying her and Glimmer hated each other was an understatement.

Marvel looks sad for a moment, "Well she didn't have a very good chance at it anyway." He says, shaking his head. True, there's no way I could've let Glimmer win these games, Clove will be the victor.

Clove looks at a loss for words, and then she says, "I'm going to pull your stingers out so don't, ah, kill me ok?" She takes the spear away from Marvel just in case. "So, here, take my hand and squeeze it when it hurts ok?" Marvel nods.

I watch rather jealously as Marvel squeezes Clove's hand about every 5 seconds. I mean sure that was me 10 minutes ago, but still. When Clove finishes pulling out all the stingers, Marvel lets out a sigh of relief.

"If only we had some type of medicine for these," Clove sighs. "None of the medicines from the Capitol are suitable for this." I wonder when she had time to go and investigate the medicines.

I guess our mentors are actually watching us, because at that moment, a silver parachute comes out from the sky. In the thing hanging off the parachute, is a handful of green leaves.

"Wow, useful," Marvel says sarcastically.

Clove is staring at the leaves intently.

"What?" I ask her.

"Well, in training we were taught a simple cure to stings." Clove says. I didn't go to the medicine station, apparently Clove did.

"And?"

"These leaves look like the cure."

Marvel reaches for a leaf and plops it on his arm. "Nope," he says popping the p. "Doesn't feel any different."

"Well, duh, you dolt." Clove says, plucking the leaf off Marvel's arm. "You have to use the juices on the inside." With that, Clove sticks the leaf in her mouth, to Marvel's and my surprise. She chews on the leaf, and then she spits it out in her palm. There is a green slimy lump sitting in Clove's hand, chewed leaf and spit, yum. Marvel has the same look of disgust on his face. "Oh, you boys are such girls." Clove states, rolling her eyes. She puts the slimy chewed leaf on her sting that sits on her knee. I hear the sigh of relief from her as soon as the sludgy green blob touches her knee.

I hesitantly take a leaf from the smile pile we have and look at it. Clove looks at me, "you have to chew it to get the juices out."

"I know, I know." I say, awkwardly putting the leaf in my mouth. I chew on it; I guess it tastes like a regular leaf… Well what does a regular leaf taste like? Despite what people may think, back in 2 I didn't spend time tasting leaves. I eventually spit the leaf out and place it on a sting on the inside of my arm, near my elbow. I sigh with so much relief as soon as the leaf touches me, it feels like when you've had something really hot, like your hand was on fire (don't ask how I know what that feels like) and then you dunk your hand in ice cold water, the feeling of relief comes immediately.

Marvel looks suspiciously from the two of us and takes a leaf, eventually he too, is sighing too. Soon we have 2 leaves left. Clove picks one up, "I'll go into the woods and see if I can find any more of these."

"I'll come with you," I say, picking up my sword and standing up with her.

"Oh, Marvel?" Clove says.

"Yeah," Marvel is staring intently at the last leaf.

"Give the last leaf to Sasha," Clove tells him, she then walks off to the forest; I easily keep up with her pace, looking back I see an angry-looking Marvel handing the boy from 3 the last leaf.

The woods are bathed in sunlight, and Clove goes from bush to bush comparing the leaves. Finally we find a large bush of the stuff, Clove opens her backpack pulling out a medium sized basket; since when did she have that in there? I help Clove pluck leaves from the bush and pile them into the basket.

"Hey," I say, smiling down at her. "We're alone you know."

"How could I not notice that fact?" Clove says, smiling back at me.

I lean down and kiss Clove, she kisses me back. Soon the basket of leaves is somewhere on the ground, and Clove and I are too. Before anything can happen like night-before-the-Hunger-Games happen, Clove rolls off me. "Let's not strip in-front of all of Panem."

"Ugh," I say, pulling her back over to me, "You know what? I'm fine with that."

Clove laughs, "Think about your family and friends, Cato, do you really think that they want to watch you- well, you know."

"My friends would love to watch," I say grinning, I can hear my mother scolding me all the way from 2, 'Don't fall in love with her!'

"Yeah, well your friends are perverts." Clove grins, "Yeah," she calls to the sky, "You heard me."

"It's true," I say, Clove laughs.

I kiss her on the neck, and work my way up, until Clove says, "Cato, look at the time." It's 4:00, "they're bound to be suspicious if we aren't back soon."

"Why must you be the cautious one in this relationship?" I ask as I get up and help Clove gather the scattered leaves from the fallen basket.

"Says the one who wouldn't let me have any more sugar because he thought I'd had too much." Clove pokes me in the arm cheerfully.

"Yeah," I say, "But I had a good reason for that."

"Yeah, and I have a good reason for not doing it," Clove tells me.

"And what is that?"

"Well a few really, 1 we're on live TV, 2, the other's will get suspicious, 3, we'd be in someone's mercy if they came on us, 4, I'd rather not strip In front of Panem."

"None of those sound good enough to me," I say.

Clove laughs and rolls her eyes, "Let's go, we have to get back."

I groan.

**Sneak peeks in my bio, lol you know all about please review and stuff. Lots of Love ~Bookfanic~**


	15. Chapter 15: Swimming

**The time thing- They have watches from the Cornucopia- sorry about the confusion**

**Cato's POV**

When we get back to the camp, 3 and Marvel run up to us.

"Where have you been all day?!" Marvel exclaims unhappily, "and why didn't you take me with you? You left me to babysit!"

3 scowls at Marvel and crosses his arms. "I'm only 2 years younger than you, and I'm the same age as Clove, if you were left here with her, you wouldn't call it babysitting." (A/N never mentioned District 3 boy's age in the book, or his name)

How does he know how old Clove is? Did she tell him? No, he probably just watched the reapings.

"Yes," I step in for Marvel. "But Clove can take care of herself," I fake looking him up and down. "You obviously can't."

3 opens his mouth to protest, but Clove beats him to it. "Look, we brought more leaves; let's fix ourselves up, shall we?"

Clove sets the basket down on the ground, and everyone reaches for the leaves to help the annoying swelling of the stings. After a while, we all have green gunk pretty much covering all our bare skin, except for 3 who only got a few stings. We all look hideous, but hey, whatever heals helps. For dinner we have simple toast and butter (butter and bread found in the supply pile, and then we stuck the bread on sticks over the fire) and Clove refills her pack with medicine, a new blanket, more water, iodine, matches, and food. I seriously think she's being over cautious, what could ever happen to our supplies? But she refuses to listen to reason.

When the anthem plays, it shows no deaths.

There are 10 of us left in the Arena they are….

"Um, who is left?" I ask.

"What?" Clove asks.

"Who's left in the Arena?" I repeat.

"Um let's see, there's Marvel, you, me, him." Clove says counting up on her fingers, "Then that redhead from 5, boy from 10, both from 11 and both from 12."

I smirk, "there won't be both from 12 for long."

The other 3 give me a questioning look.

"I cut Peeta," I say, "deep."

The 3 of them then wince; they all know my abilities with a sword.

"He'll die on his own, no need to worry about him."

"Well then…" Clove says. "We should set up night shifts!" changing the subject much?

"Ok so, it's 8 now. So if we get up at sunrise which is about 5…." I zoned out, even if it's Clove talking it's hard to keep my attention on strategy, it's just not my type of thing. My type of thing is more run into a situation; think about if it's a bad idea later.

"So each shift is two hours and fifteen minutes. (A/N Did I do the math right?) So it goes Sasha, Marvel, Me, Clove"

My shift is boring, just like the rest of everyone else's shifts, nothing happens. I wake Clove up at 4, I let her sleep an extra 15 minutes, it's a nice thing to do, but letting them sleep an extra hour and a half is overkill in my opinion.

"Clove," I shake her gently.

"Mm?"

"Time for your shift."

"K," Clove ever so slowly climbs from the sleeping bag. She then rolls it up and puts it in her pack, waste of time if you ask me.

Clove pulls out a knife and climbs out of the fancy tent. I crawl into my own sleeping bag now. The tent seems so much emptier without 2 extra bodies in here. I lie awake for a while thinking about my family. I remember the day that Solis was born; I was 13 at the time. It was so exciting when I got to hold him for the first time in my arms. Ever since then I have been very protective of him, I made sure he didn't see the brutal parts in the Hunger Games and that he wasn't picked on at school. The last person who picked on him kindergartener named Truly- ended up with a broken arm.

My mother loves us both and is very protective. My father on the other hand, is never home, and when he is, he is scolding me on all the things that I've done wrong and none of the things I've done right. He's the head peace keeper in 2 and he usually stays out of the house training more peace keepers. My father has an impulsive temper, I got mine from him. If he gets angry he'll do whatever comes into mind, not thinking about the after effects until afterwards. I've witnessed him hit my mother when he was upset about work. Afterwards of course, he apologized many times, but still he has an impulsive side, and thanks to him, I do too.

-0_0-

Clove leaves after breakfast to go and think in the forest she leaves us to have a 'boys bonding time' as she refers to it. Around 11 though, a cannon blast sounds through the air, I sit straight up, Clove. I stand up and walk for the woods, I see a hovercraft appear and take away a body, and from here I can see that the body is bleeding a tremendous amount. I run into the forest now, calling "CLOVE!"

I come into a small sunlit clearing; this is where the hovercraft appeared. Clove is wiping a bloody knife on a mossy rock.

"Clove!" I exclaim and run over and hug her. Yeah, smart, hug someone holding a knife.

"Hey..." Clove says; she awkwardly pats me on the back.

"I'm sorry," I say letting go, "It's just I heard a cannon and- "

"I get it, I get it." Clove says; she hugs me, "I'd be worried about you too."

"Who, who died?" I ask.

"The boy from 10," Clove tells me.

No image pops into my mind.

"The one with the crippled foot," it seems like she has just read my mind, I wouldn't put it past her.

"Oh," I remember him in the training room; he go believe.

"Yeah," Clove says, "He had a hidden talent with a spear."

"Are you ok?"

"No, I'm bleeding to death right now," Clove informs me.

"Oh, well, nice knowing you," I tell her.

"There you are! Cato, you just ran off into the woods, we were worried about you!" 3 exclaims as he and Marvel appear in the clearing. Ha, yeah right.

-0_0-

It is high noon and we are all sitting in the shade of the Cornucopia. We are also all bored out of our minds. I'm afraid that the Game Makers will decide that it's too boring and light another fire or something worse.

"It is so hot," I complain.

"No really?" Marvel asks, he's sitting in a chair with his eyes closed.

"Can't you invent like some sort of solar powered air conditioner?" I ask 3.

He looks confused that I'm talking to him, "Um, no."

"Whole lot of use you are."

"Oh, both of you shut up." Clove says; she's eyeing the lake. "If you really want to cool off…" she says while pulling off her jacket and knife vest (both still loaded with knives.) She keeps her belt on though, and sprints off, the next thing I know there's a loud splash and Clove has disappeared under the waters of the lake. 3 looks surprised, and Marvel hasn't even bothered to look.

Cloves head pops back up from the water; her hair is darkened by the water

"What do you all want to burn to death?" she asks.

I walk over to the lake, "You," I say to Clove, "Are crazy."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, you're swimming in a lake, in the Hunger Games; the Game Makers could have put rabid piranhas in there or something."

"Are you telling me that the great Cato, legend of District 2 is scared of a few little piranhas?" Clove asks.

"Well," I smile, "when you put it that way." I dive into the lake, the water feels cool and refreshing. "Ugh, I'm going to get my sword rusty." I say.

"You are such a downer, Cat." Clove says, splashing me in the face.

"Oh, you did not just do that." I say to her.

"Do what?" Clove asks innocently. "This?" she splashes me with water again.

"Oh, you're on, Knife-girl." I say, splashing her face with water.

Clove laughs, and soon we are in a full-fledged splash war.

-0_0-

After a while of swimming and splashing around, we both get out of the lake for lunch. Lunch is a simple piece of ham (yeah we found a ham in the supply pile) and a piece of bread. After lunch, Clove takes a blanket, setting it down on the ground she lays on it. She has her knife vest and jacket placed next to her.

I walk over to her, causing my shadow to fall on-top of her. Clove opens one eye to look at me, then she props herself up on her elbows. "You're in my sun."

"What?" I ask, confused.

"You're in my sun," Clove says slowly. "I'm trying to dry off."

"Oh," I say not moving.

"Well aren't you going to be a gentleman and move?" Clove asks me.

"You know," I say casually, "Today I'm not feeling very gentleman-y."

Clove moves, quicker than I anticipate, the next thing I know, I'm lying with my back on the hard packed dirt. "Thank you for moving," Clove says, lying back down on the blanket.

I give her a thumbs up.

**Sneak peeks in my website, and please review! Xoxo Bookfanic**


	16. Chapter 16: Goodbye Supplies

**Cato's POV**

A bit later, I'm sitting on a chair under the shade of the Cornucopia, next to Marvel. Something out of the corner of my eye moves. There is a column of smoke rising over the tree tops, "look!" I call out, pointing to the woods.

Marvel looks, and bursts into a grin, and I see Clove also look over at the smoke, she is looking at it, puzzled. She gets up off the blanket and grabs her jacket and vest, pulling them on while she walks our way.

Marvel is grabbing 2 spears from where he put them on the ground. "Let's go," he says.

I check my waist; my sword is still there in its sheath. "Ready," I say.

"Ditto," says Clove.

3 comes over holding a spear, "I'm ready too," he says.

"Wait a minute, you aren't coming with us." Marvel says yanking the spear from his grasp.

"Yeah, I am." 3 says.

"No, you're not." Marvel tells him.

"Yes, I am."

"No you aren't someone needs to stay here and guard the supplies!"

"He's coming," I say, I'm hoping to get 3 killed off in this trip. "We need him in the woods, and his job's done here anyway. No one can touch those supplies."

"What about Lover Boy?" Marvel asks.

"I keep telling you," wait did I only tell them once? Oops whatever. "Forget about him. I know where I cut him. It's a miracle he hasn't bled to death yet. At any rate, he's in no shape to raid us. Come on," I take the spear from Marvel and toss it to 3. The 4 of us head off into the woods. As we get into the woods I say, "When we find her," they know I mean Katniss, the girl who outscored me and dropped a nest of Tracker Jackers on me and my girlfriend. "I kill her in my own way, and no one interferes."

"You're being overly dramatic," Clove tells me.

"She dropped a nest of Tracker Jackers on us," I remind Clove.

"Yeah, and we treed her."

"Whose side are you on?" I ask Clove incredulously.

Clove shrugs, "My side."

15 minutes later

"This doesn't feel right," Clove says. We're looking for the fire, but navigating through the trees is difficult.

"What, walking in the woods?" Marvel asks her.

"No, everyone left has got to be smart enough to be alive right now, right?"

"Yeah, I guess." I say.

"So no one left would be idiot enough to light a fire," Clove says, I nod, it's true. "Also, who would need a fire in the middle of a like 900 degrees day." Also true.

"To cook, maybe?" Marvel suggests.

"You could probably just out food out on a rock and be able to cook it." Clove points out.

"Maybe, but these people might not have thought about that." Marvel replies absentmindedly. What Clove is saying makes sense though.

"Maybe we should have left Sasha to guard…" Clove says. I don't like that she's on first-name terms with him.

"No, I should be allowed to go out hunting with you guys occasionally." 3 says.

"Maybe we should go –" Clove starts.

"Um, Clove?" 3 interrupts. "Can I... talk to you?"

Clove gives him an odd look but says, "Sure, I guess." Then she turns to Marvel and I, "you 2 go ahead, we'll catch up in a minute." I narrow my eyes at 3, he better not try anything.

Marvel and I walk ahead, Marvel is seriously trying to track down this fire, but it is in the denser part of the woods, so it's harder to find. I look briefly back, and in that second I see Clove and 3 kissing.

I turn my head away; it hurts too much to see. I knew there was something going on between them! I feel jealousy boil up inside me, he was kissing my girlfriend, the girl I love, kissing her. I'm torn between the want to cry, rip off 3's head, or yell, though I do none of those things, I just keep on walking like nothing is wrong.

At this moment Clove appears at my side, she has a look on her face that I can't quite place. "Hey," she says like nothing is wrong.

I don't reply.

"Cato?" Clove waves her hand in front of my face as we walk, "You okay?"

"Yeah," I manage to sound normal, to my surprise. "Fine, I just want to find her, and kill her."

-0_0-

When we finally find where the fire is, no one is seen in the area. It's just a bunch of green wood smoking like crazy.

"This was a set up," Clove says looking at the fire.

"But why -" I begin.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The 4 of us exchange glances before running off, back the way we came.

I am the first one back to the camp, the supply pile is gone. Nothing left, but burned black debris. Clove, Marvel, and 3 appear at my side.

I feel a large amount of rage bubbling in the pit of my stomach, not just because of all the blown up supplies, but at Clove and 3 too. I hardly notice that I'm pulling my hair out from frustration, and beating the ground with my fists. 3 throws rocks around the ruined strip of land and declares that it's safe and that all the mines are activated. Clove and Marvel tentatively begin to walk up to the wrecked area that used to be a large pile of good supplies. I come up behind them, kicking the smoking remains of the supplies. Clove and Marvel are poking around to see if there's anything left to salvage, there isn't. 3 did his job too well, much too well. I turn around.

"YOU IDIOT! YOU WORTHLESS STUPID GOOD FOR NOTHING…" I'm yelling insults at him; I'm not even sure what is coming from my mouth.

3 turns around to run, his time here, in the Alliance is spent. Before he can make it as much as 2 feet I grab him in a headlock from behind, and twist. The crack of 3's neck is loud; I hear Clove gasp as his body falls to the ground. It's a quick and almost painless death, more than he deserves.

Clove is at my side as soon as 3's body drops to the ground and the cannon goes off.

"The woods," I say, my rage is blinding my thoughts. "We have to hunt down whoever did this."

"Cat," Clove says quietly. "They're dead."

"How do you know?" I ask her angrily.

Clove points to the sky, "I don't, but we will by tonight, if anyone's face appears in the sky, besides Sasha's and 10's then we know that whoever set off the mines were dead. If we don't see another face, then we go out and hunt."

The sound of her voice relaxes me, despite everything.

The 3 of us retreat to the lake and let the hovercraft take away 3's body. We sit by the lake and wait for Panem's seal to appear in the sky. The anthem plays, and 2 faces appear, 3's and 10's, no one else's, the bomber is still alive. I can feel myself begin to lose my temper, before I can, something is tossed at me, and I catch it. Clove just tossed me one of the pairs of night vision glasses, she holds the other pair. Marvel lights a tree branch for a torch, turns out he has a small pack on too, not as bulgy and noticeable as Clove's, but it's still there. I grip my sword in my right hand, and the spear that 3 had in my left. Marvel holds his spear, and Clove holds a knife in each hand, we're ready to hunt.

**Well there goes the Love square, ooo maybe Marvel secretly had a thing for Cato (yes not Clove) haha jk, he had feelings for Glimmer. Don't forget to review this chapter (and story!) Sneak peeks on my website (link in bio) ~BOOKFANIC~**


	17. Chapter 17: End of the Alliance

**Just saying Sasha can be also a boy's name, not just a girl's name. **

**BTW THANKYOU GUYS I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! I got to 100 reviews That just made my day. I never thought that I would get past 25 reviews, and half of them would be negative! But you guys changed that! Thank you Thank you Thank you. :D **

**Cato's POV**

The 3 of us stride into the woods. There are 3 of us left in the Alliance out of 6, 3 remain. The original 6 were Glimmer, Marvel, Clove, me, Sierra and Marino. We picked up a few on the way and lost many. The forest is dark, but it doesn't affect any of us, after all, Clove and I can see as well as we can in the daylight, and Marvel has a torch light. I'm fairly sure that Marvel was going to object about not getting a pair, but then Clove glared at him and he stopped, mid-word, smart of him.

The hunt was futile; we found no one, not even a sign of anyone. A few hours after sunrise Clove stops, "Ugh!" she exclaims, "This is so annoying! If we hadn't left the camp than we wouldn't be in this situation!"

"Well maybe, you should stop being such a girl and quit whining." Marvel says, we are all tired and irritable; a tribute stumbling across us would be very bad luck for them at the moment.

Clove stares at Marvel, "Excuse me?"

Marvel's in trouble area now. "I said," He says, annoyance obvious in his voice, "that you should stop being such a girl and deal with the fact that we have nothing left."

"Well maybe, if you'd stayed behind and guarded, this wouldn't have happened!"

"Oh, if I stayed behind and guarded? Why couldn't you have?"

"Because," Clove replies snottily. "I'm better than you, our training scores showed that."

"Really? You think so?" Marvel's hand tightens on his spear.

"Yeah, I do." Clove says, raising the knife in her right hand.

That's it; I grab Clove's arm and squeeze, hard. Probably harder than I should, but she cheated on me, she deserves it, Clove winces. "Enough of your guys' bickering, we have hunting to do."

Clove doesn't struggle against my hand, but after I say that she does yank her arm from my grasp. "Fine, but in an hour if we still have found nothing I want to rest."

"Fine," I say, I'm ready for some rest too.

"I just wish that – " Clove begins.

"WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP ALREADY?!" Marvel exclaims. "I AM SICK AND TIRED OF HEARING YOUR HIGH-PITCHED ANNOYING VOCE!"

I can feel Clove tense beside me, "Yeah? Well I bet you that I'm sicker of hearing yours."

"Look I know that your boyfriend is dead and all, but seriously, you're being a bitch."

That breaks all of Clove's restraint, she lunges at Marvel and the two of them are rolling on the ground, punching and kicking at each other in no time. I literally have to pull Clove up by her shirt to get her off Marvel.

"SERIOUSLY YOU TWO STOP IT!" I yell, I'm pissed at Clove for apparently 'being with' 3, and I just don't really like Marvel. Clove is struggling to get back at Marvel, but I have a firm grasp on the back of her shirt.

Marvel stands up and is wiping the dirt from his clothes,

"He was, not, my, boyfriend," Clove says, pausing after every word.

"Yeah, uh-huh, that's why I saw you 2 kissing," I'm not sure if he meant at the same time I saw them or at a different time, but I can feel the rage building up inside me.

"Leave," I say to Marvel.

"What I-"

"Leave," I say again.

Marvel shoots a furious glance at Clove and walks loudly off into the forest. I know that it's a little rash, but I don't want him here anymore.

After Marvel leaves Clove puts a hand on my shoulder blade, "Cat, it's not what it –"

"Isn't it?" I turn and ask her angrily.

"No, I-"

"I saw you!" I'm yelling now.

"That- "

"What?! It meant nothing to you, I guess?!"

"No-"

"Get your hand off me!" I yell.

"Cat- "

"GET IT OFF!" Clove still doesn't remove her hand.

"I-"

"NO! I SAW YOU TWO! EVERYTHING WAS A LIE! A LIE! YOU USED ME!" I shriek, pulling out my sword.

"Stop it, I-"

"I know what I saw," I scream.

"No, he kissed me!" she says before I can interrupt.

"STOP LYING!" I yell at her, Clove cringes from the tone of my voice. "I KNOW WHAT I SAW, YOU LIED TO ME YOU USED ME!"

"No I didn't! He kissed me, and then I pushed him away and told him I had a boyfriend!" Clove puts her hand on my arm, "I would never- "

I take my sword and smack Clove with the blade, right below her knee. "YOU LIER! I TRUSTED YOU! I-"

Clove is leaning over now, clutching her bleeding calf. "Stop it, just stop." She says in a scarily quiet voice. "You should know that, he kissed me, and then I pushed him away, I told him that I didn't like him that way, and then I didn't talk to him again, ever. That's the truth, and if you don't believe me, well, I tried." Clove then turns around and staggers away into the woods.

It takes me a while to process what she said in my anger-filled brain, when I do I am instantly filled with regret. "Clove!" I call out; I already know that she's gone, too far gone to hear me. I have just ruined that only good thing I had in this Arena. She hates me now; the one person that I love here hates me. I feel my heart break from what I just did.

**Shortest chapter ever posted. What will happen next? Will Clove forgive him? We all know a rather not rather, REALLY HEARTBREAKING sad scene is coming up. Sneak peeks on my website, don't forget to review! ~BOOKFANIC~**


	18. Chapter 18: Rule Change

**Clove's POV**

I can't believe it, he actually did it; he cut me. When he pulled out his sword, I thought that it was just to look threatening; I didn't think that he'd use it, but he did. Cato must really hate me, maybe now I'm just another Tribute to kill for him. I won't be an easy kill though; I'll make sure of that. But even though he hurt me, both physically and mentally, I know that I could never kill Cato. I couldn't because I love him. There I said it, even if it was in my brain, I love Cato, and there's no possible way that I could ever live without him. Even though he's hurt me, well we've all made mistakes. Maybe it was just out of blind rage, I don't know, though I didn't do anything wrong.

I continue limping onward, until I come to a dense area of trees, where I'm probably safe to rest. I have been holding my calf where Cato slashed me; it's not a too deep cut, though it's not shallow either. I pull the backpack in front of me and take out my first aid kit. I wonder how Cato will do without me there to help him; can he find things to eat? Will he even last a night? The second one is most likely a yes; Cato is strong enough to protect himself, unless he's being attacked from a distance, for example, with a bow, especially when that person earned an 11 with their bow skills. I know for a fact that Katniss has in her possession the silver bow that was once Glimmer's, Cato saw her take it, which means that now Katniss is our most dangerous enemy. I just said our, the Alliance is broken now. Marvel kicked off, Cato and I separated and the rest are dead. So I guess it's just me, there's no way that both Cato and I could have won anyway.

I nervously twist the ring on my finger, how can I win if it's just down to Cato and me? The answer is I couldn't. There's no possible way that I could ever kill Cato, ever, though, I can't say the same about him to me.

I pour alcohol on the wound (OUCH) and then add medicine and bandage it. I don't rinse it off for fear of wasting my water. I wrap the wound tightly so that I can walk. I practice walking around just to get used to the feeling.

BOOM! Cannon goes off, I wonder who it is, and it couldn't be Cato, could it? No way, Cato isn't dead, I reassure myself; still, I'm not quite sure. I feel a pang of regret, what if it was Cato and he died because I left him, and he couldn't guard his back? I am running horrible possibilities of Cato's death over in my head when BOOM! Another cannon goes off. I watch as a hovercraft appears in the sky and takes away 2 bodies, I have no idea who they are. The hovercraft is surprisingly close, which I have to admit frightens me; whoever just killed 2 people is nearby.

I hold still and wait to hear someone approaching. My hand tightens on the knife blade that I'm holding. I wait, and watch, but nobody comes by. After a while I get bored of waiting for someone to come and kill me so I decide to get up and find somewhere to camp tonight. I decide on a Katniss-style sleeping place. I climb a high tree and set myself in a fork in the tree, lying out my sleeping bag too. I sit in the sleeping bag with my back against the trunk, and eat dinner which is a slice of bread, an apple, and 3 strips of dried beef. Right about after I finish dinner, Panem's seal appears in the sky, and the anthem plays. The first face to appear it Marvel's, I wonder who killed him. The girl from 5? Rue? No, Rue wouldn't have been able to kill him, there's no way. Thresh? That's a possibility, he did want to go into the field to hunt Thresh; Marvel also wasn't the brightest, so maybe after he got kicked out of the Alliance he foolishly went alone into the field to try and kill Thresh. Cato? That is also a possibility, maybe after I left, Cato went out to hunt, and came across Marvel, I have no doubt that Cato could kill him. Peeta? No, Cato seemed pretty sure that Peeta was in no shape to even walk, though; sometimes Cato's judgment can be clouded by his arrogance. Then there's Katniss, she also has quite the ability to kill with her bow, I mean if she got an 11 she has to.

The next face to appear is... Rue. So Rue is dead. I feel sadness for her, she was so young. That knocks Thresh off the list of people, he wouldn't kill his own District partner, or someone that small and innocent, would he? Katniss? No, she seemed to like Rue also. Cato though… Maybe he teamed up with Marvel again then hunted Rue down to get at me, and then killed Marvel… I don't know. I see fire smoke in the distance, who could that be? Someone with a death wish? Or someone who is trying to lure others in to kill them. (A/N I know that this isn't where it is in the book, but I wanted to include it) I don't bother going and trying to find out who lit the fire, I'm comfortable in my tree (or as comfortable as you can get in a tree) and I don't feel like climbing down at the moment. I snuggle up in my sleeping bag and drift off to sleep.

-0_0-

The next day, I climb out of the tree, putting the sleeping bag back in my back pack and then I leave the tree by sunrise. Knowing Cato, he's probably not awake yet, if he even did go to sleep last night. There are 6 of us left the girl from 5, Cato and I, Thresh, and 12. 5 people left until I can go home. "I'll be home soon," I whisper, knowing that my family is probably watching me now, and if they aren't, they'll see me say this later. "I love you guys."

-o_o-

Today has been boring, I'm alone and incredibly bored. I killed one of those weird turkey-things again. At dusk I light a fire to cook it, the smoke will be best covered up at this point in time. No cannons have gone off today, and no faces appear in the sky. I half hope that somebody will kill Cato, so I don't have to do it, and the other half, the unselfish half, hopes that Cato will get home. As soon as the anthem ends, the sound of trumpets begin, I look up. Trumpets = announcement, usually for a feast, but any announcement is something I needto hear, it could help me win these games.

"Congratulations to the remaining 6 Tributes," Claudius Templesmith's voice booms around the Arena.

_Oh get to the point, weird head._

There has been a rule change in the Games." What? Rule change? "Now, it is possible for 2 Tributes that come from the same District to both win." There are only 2 Districts with 2 Tributes left, 2 and 12, "Happy Hunger Games."

I'm sure this rule change is for 12, why would anyone care about the 2 Tributes from 2 who have shared a few kisses during the Games. I hear a loud noise echo through the Arena, "Peeta!" Wow, it's like she wants a death sentence from Cato. If it's possible for both of us to win, I need to get in touch with Cato, somehow, and hope he doesn't kill me.

The best way to do that is to attract attention to myself, putting myself in danger of anyone. It's night, so I decide to do the rashest thing possible, I light a fire.

**HEARTBREAKING scene draws closer….. (exactly 4 chapters away) Sneak peek on my website. Don't forget to review! 3 ~BOOKFANIC~**


	19. Chapter 19: Forgive and Forget

**Short chapter….. **

**Clove's POV**

I wait a good 20 minutes before anyone approaches me; I'm holding a knife in my hand just in case. Cato stands behind me, I can tell since well, I could tell his footsteps anywhere.

"Come to finish me off?" I ask, back still turned to him.

Cato walks into the clearing where I'm sitting by the fire, "No, I uh." he pauses at a loss for words. "I came to… apologize?" He says it as a question, has he never said an apology before?!

"Continue," I say, I've already forgiven him, but I want to hear Cato stumble through the apology more.

"I'm um… sorry that I cut you…" Wow that sounds wrong. "I just get into uh... Raging fits sometimes and I can't control them."

"You got that right," I mutter so that Cato can't hear me, but the rest of Panem can.

"So, would you please forgive me for being an asshole?" Cato asks.

"Fine," I say, I can hear Cato let out a breath. "But," I say. "Only if you say, I am a jealous-arrogant-ass-like-dick and Clove is the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Do I have to?" Cato complains.

"Yes," I smirk,

"I am a jealous-arrogant-ass-like-dick and Clove is the best thing that ever happened to me." Wow, Cato really does want me back.

"Wow, I didn't think you'd actually say it," I say, surprised.

"Well, it's not like any part of it isn't true," Cato says, as he comes and sits beside me.

I look at him, surprised.

"What?" Cato asks me, the firelight casting dancing shadows on his handsome face.

"Nothing," I say, turning back towards the fire, an awkward silence follows.

After a while, "Are you seriously hurt?" Cato asks.

"I'll live," I shrug.

Cato winces like I've punched him in the tender spot.

"I'm fine, Cat, don't worry about me." I say, using his nick-name so he knows I hold no grudges against him.

Cato looks at me for a long time, his blue eyes studying me.

"Stop staring," I say, "It's creepy."

Cato smiles at that, "It's loving," he objects.

"Creepy."

"Loving."

"Creepy."

"Loving."

"Creepy."

"Loving."

"Loving."

"Creepy."

"Ha!" I jump up, "I got you, again."

"Oh, shut up," Cato says smiling. "So… did you kill Marvel?" Well there's a happy subject.

"No, you?"

"Nope, otherwise I wouldn't have asked."

"Oh, shut up," I say, repeating Cato's exact words.

Cato smiles, "did you hear the announcement-?"

"How could I not? It was echoing through the entire Arena."

"Well if you deaf – "

"We can both go home." I say seriously.

"Yeah," Cato's smile gets bigger, "We can both go home, together."

I lean forward and kiss him; I can hear the people back in 2 groaning right now. Plus Joce jumping up and down, clapping and Shawna talking on and on about what a bad strategy it is to be in love in the games….

"So…" Cato says, "Do you still have that sleeping bag?"

"Ha! See? Carrying the backpack around wasn't such a bad idea!" I exclaim.

"Meh, I wouldn't do it."

"Why? Because it would ruin your masculinity?"

"No –"

"Yes," I say teasingly, poking him in the stomach, "Ow!" I fake my finger being hurt. "I just poked my finger into a rock!" I shake my hand.

Cato laughs, "You poked the rock," he indicates his abs, "not me."

"Well, you didn't have to make them that hard," I poke him again.

"Yeah, I did," Cato says, "if it gets hot girls to keep poking me, it's worth it."

I roll my eyes at him, Cato smiles innocently back at me.

"So, what are we going to do from here on out?"

"Why, Clove, I can't believe you'd ask that," Cato pauses. "We go hunting, of course."

**Hunting….. Sneak Peek on my website. Don't forget to review! ~BOOKFANIC~**


	20. Chapter 20: Feast Scene Announcement

**Clove's POV**

Hunting is not exactly fun, we haven't found anyone, well duh, they stayed alive this long. We tried to go down to the river to find Lover Boy, he isn't there though. There's Katniss, but from her yell PEETA! I assume that she found him, and is trying to keep him alive somewhere in the Arena. 5 is well hidden, I can't help but think that maybe she is following us, and watching us. If I wasn't a 'career' then I'd follow the most dangerous one in here and wait for the perfect chance to strike.

Apparently the perfect chance to strike never happens though; well Cato and I do have each other's backs 24/7 so I understand why she doesn't attack. When Cato and I aren't hunting, we're usually kissing somewhere. I know, kissing in the Games, but seriously I bet 12 is doing it too and it isn't even real.

I've lost track of how many days there has been since the end of the Alliance, all I know is that there are 6 of us left, and no one has died recently. Hopefully the others are giving the audience a good show so that nothing like the fire happens again. Since nothing does happen, I'm sure that everyone's favorite couple is spicing things up for the audience. Brutus and Enobaria occasionally send us in some food; apparently we do actually still have some sponsors. Thinking about the other Tributes I think about how we can win. Thresh; well it's 2 on 1, even though he is massive, so our chances of winning are pretty good. 5, she's clever, but if it's Cato, her, and me left in the games, the Game Makers will drive us together, and then she'll be an easy kill. Then there is 12, the other pair left. Peeta is good with a knife, and Katniss has one of my knives that I threw in her bag. Katniss also has her bow that is what is going to give us the most trouble; she could kill us without us even seeing her.

"You know what we need?" I ask Cato as we walk around in the forest, looking for signs of anyone.

"To win?"

"No, well yes, but we need some type of armor to protect ourselves from Katniss's arrows, otherwise she could easily pick us off from just sitting in a tree."

"True…" Cato says. "But sending that into the Arena would cost way more than we'll ever get."

"Then we'll just have to work hard to get enough sponsors," I say, smiling, though we both know that's impossible if we aren't able to find anyone to kill.

The days are incredibly hot, and at night it drops below freezing. Cato and I share the sleeping bag (oh shut up, we just sleep, that's it!) and occasionally hunt. Around 6, trumpets sound. Claudius Templesmith is announcing a feast, guess the viewers were getting bored of all the love between 12 and no killing. We don't need food; we can hunt well enough, but maybe others do and we could sneak up on them while – "Now hold on. Some of you may already be declining my invitation. But this is no ordinary feast. Each of you needs something desperately." Desperately? I'm not sure about desperately, but needs… "Each of you will find that something in a backpack, marked with your District number, at the Cornucopia at dawn. Think hard about refusing to show up. For some of you, this will be your last chance." Then he says nothing else, leaving the dramatic words in the air.

I turn to face Cato, who is staring up at the sky, "What do we need desperately?" I ask him.

"I'm not totally clear on that, myself," Cato says, "But we should go, everyone else will be going." What he means to say is that others will be going, so this is our chance to lower the number of Tributes in the Arena, thus getting us closer to home, to our families, to our new lives that await us.

"Well, we should get to the Cornucopia, then shouldn't we?" I say Cato smiles at me and together we head towards the general direction of the Cornucopia.

We get to the woods outlining the Cornucopia about an hour after dark. There, we sit and wait for the sun to rise. We sit under the blanket I have, using the night vision glasses, we watch for any signs of movement, none appear. Though we have the blanket on, it is still freezing; we crouch very close to each other for warmth.

"Ok, so I go to the Cornucopia and you pace the perimeter for the other Tributes." I say.

"Why don't I go to the Cornucopia, and you walk around the forest line?" Cato asks.

"Because," I say, "It was my idea, SO I'm going to the Cornucopia."

"But it's more dangerous down there," Cato says, ugh not the protective boyfriend move.

"Exactly why I'm going," I say smiling.

"No, I-"

"Cato, I'm going down to the Cornucopia, you're going to be on the perimeter, I don't care what you say, that is how it's going to be, and you should listen or I swear I will knock you out during the feast time, and then you will be no help at all."

Cato shuts up.

A half an hour before dawn, Cato and I stand up, he's going to move, so hopefully he can catch at least someone.

I stand up on my tip-toes and kiss him. "I'll see you soon," I say, smiling.

"See you soon," Cato leans down and kisses me back. "I love you." He says.

I love you too…. "How could you not?" I joke, "Now move it, we have hunting to do."

"Remember," Cato says as he begins to walk away, "Nothing will stand in our way, nothing."

**Next chapter… Sneak Peek on my website (link in bio) don't forget to review! BTW for any of you that didn't know, I have an Instagram account (bookfanic), I also have a twitter (same name) and I give out some spoilers on there, and a pinterest (I bet you couldn't guess the name! Also my other Instagram account is lovelivelaugh6 and mundanestele**

**~BOOKFANIC~**


	21. Chapter 21: The Feast

**Ever heard the term UGH SCHOOL'S BACK? UGH SCHOOL'S BACK! I'll only be able to post later in the day**

**SO SORRY FOR NOT POSTING YESTERDAY! I tried, but wouldnt let me so blame them, lol**

**check my website if I dont post I'll usually explain there (aka yesterday)**

**Clove's POV**

Telltale hints of the sun coming up are in the sky, it's beginning to turn a light orange in the distance. I pull my glasses off and stuff them in my backpack. Just as the first ray of sunlight hits the Cornucopia, there's a disturbance on the plain. The ground before the mouth of the horn slips in two and a round table with a snowy white cloth rises into the Arena. I wonder if you dig far enough, could you make it back to the catacombs, and out into freedom? 4 back packs sit on the table, the two largest ones are marked 2 and 11, and they are black. There is a medium sized green pack with the number 5 on it, and a tiny orange pack with the number 12 on it, the only thing that could probably fit in there is a syringe, medicine for Peeta?

As soon as the table clicks into place, a figure darts out of the Cornucopia and snags the green back pack. It's the girl from 5, clever idea; she was probably there right after the announcement, since we didn't see her all night. 5 is now sprinting across the plain into the cover of the wood. 5 has us all trapped here, she knows that none of us will risk losing what we need most to chase after her. I hope that Cato has seen her and is going after her now. 5 has purposely left the rest of the packs alone, if she'd grabbed another one then she'd defiantly have a pursuer, but now everyone is waiting for their chance to get their pack. I know that at least 2 other people are poised to run and get their packs at the moment, Thresh and Katniss.

There she is, sprinting for the table to grab her tiny bag; I emerge from the forest, running after her clutching a knife. Ugh short legs= have to run faster. I'm good at running yes, but right now it seems that Katniss's legs are 2x longer than mine, even though they aren't. I lift my first knife, aim and throw. It would have hit her too, but she deflects the knife with her bow. Next Katniss turns with a bow and shoots an arrow at me; I turn, though not fast enough to entirely avoid the arrow. It pierces me high in my left arm. Lucky I throw right handed, though, I can throw with my left too. It slows me down to have to rip out the arrow from my arm and take in the severity of the wound, it's not death but it sure hurts like hell. I still chase Katniss, she's at the table now, fingers wrapping around her tiny bag, but I can't let her get away. I throw a knife; it hits her in the forehead, right above her right eyebrow. The gash causes blood to pour in to her eye and mouth, gross.

Katniss lets go of the readied arrow, but since there was blood in her eye, she couldn't aim right and misses me so badly Glimmer could've done better than her, and that's saying something. I slam into Katniss; momentum helps me knock her to the ground. I perch on top of her chest, my knees pinning her shoulders to the ground, and my boots holding down her hands.

"Where's your boyfriend, District Twelve?" I taunt. "Still hanging on?" I know I shouldn't be taunting her right before I kill her, but she freaking shot me in the arm. Though, I plan to make her death quick so that she won't be in pain for long.

"He's out there now. Hunting Cato," She snarls. "Peeta!" she screams.

Did she just threaten my boyfriend? I think that she did, slamming my fist into Katniss's windpipe I effectively cut off her voice. I whip my head around; he couldn't be healed could he? I know that if he is, that he will run to Katniss's aid no matter the cost, love is weird that way. But if Peeta were here, he'd be out by now, coming to save Katniss, since he's not here, obviously Katniss lied, and I'm _not_ happy that she just threatened Cato.

"Liar," I grin at her to look menacing, though Peeta was actually a nice guy and I liked him. "He's nearly dead. Cato knows where he cut him." I don't know why Cato hadn't killed him, it's torture to leave someone to die like that. "You've probably got him strapped up in some tree while you try to keep his heart going." True Katniss did seem to have an affection for trees which was demonstrated by her running to a tree for help and climbing like 90 feet in the air. "What's in the pretty little backpack? That medicine for Lover Boy?" Ugh, my grammar… "Too bad he'll never get it."

I open my jacket, showing my collection of knives to Katniss. It's an impressive collection, I have them lining the front of my jacket, and I have my knife vest plus the belt. I pick out a small thin knife with a curved sharp blade. "I promised Cato if he let me have you, I'd give the audience a good show." Not true, Cato still wants to murder Katniss, he never gave me permission.

Katniss struggles to get out from under me, but I have her firmly pinned on the ground. "Forget it, District Twelve," I say, I'm still really pissed off about the whole threaten-your-boyfriend-with-my-fake-boyfriend thing, when I'm mad I do and say impulsive things. "We're going to kill you. Just like we did your pathetic little ally…" See what I mean? My anger about her threatening Cato has stretched to me taunting her on Rue's death, which admittedly saddened me a lot. "What was her name? The one who hopped around in trees? Rue?" Saying her name makes me regret this whole situation. "Well, first Rue, then you, and I think we'll just let nature take care of Lover Boy. How does that sound?" Great now I've really made her mad, see how it feels? Don't threaten Cato; I'm as good at hurting with words as I am with weapons. I even hurt myself talking about Rue, "Now where to start?"

I wipe away the blood from her face with my jacket sleeve, tilting my head side to side, as if surveying her face. Katniss attempts to bite me, what is this? The rabid dog games? I stop her by pulling the braid on the top of her head, forcing it back to the ground, ow, that's got to hurt, I resist the urge to say 'I'm sorry!' and beg forgiveness. Yes, I'm that soft-hearted, though, I don't act like it. "I think," I purr to scare Katniss, "I think we'll start with your mouth." We'll, me and the knife, am I turning into that creepy character from Rose's book? What was his name? Gollum?

Katniss clamps her teeth together as I trace the lines around her mouth with my knife. As I said before Clove + angry = bad clouded judgment. I was going to give Katniss a quick death, but she threatened Cato so no quick death for her.

Katniss is staring at me angrily; oops Rue comment hit the anger/hurt button for both of us.

"Yes, I don't think you'll have much use for your lips anymore. Want to blow Lover Boy one last kiss?" Then she spits a whole mouth full of blood and spit in my face, can I just say, EW. I can feel myself flushing with rage; she threatens Cato, and then has the nerve to spit in my face. "All right then. Let's get started."

I put a little strength into the tip of the knife; it opens a cut above her lip I begin to slowly bring it along her lip line when something forcefully pulls me off Katniss. It's Thresh; he looks at me, his eyes full of hatred and anger. I am dangling a foot above the ground, imprisoned in Thresh's arms. Thresh flips me over and flings me to the ground. Then he shouts, I've never heard his voice so loud, much less so angry. "What'd you do ti that little girl? You kill her?"

I'm scrambling away from him, he is towering over me, I'm short and Thresh just reminds me of that, especially since I'm on the ground. "No! No, it wasn't me!" I scream frantically, trying to get Thresh to understand through my eyes, that I liked Rue, and was saddened by her death.

"You said her name. I heard you. You kill her? You cut her up like you were going to cut up this girl here?!" His features are filled with rage.

"No! No, I-" Why can't he understand that I liked Rue?! Then I see a loaf-sized rock in his hand, I'm dead and I know it. "CATO!" I scream at the top of my lungs. "CATO!"

"CLOVE!" I hear Cato call back, he's far away, was he hunting 5? He is too far away to come to my rescue; I'm dead, just because of my fit of anger at Katniss.

The next thing I see it the rock coming down towards my head, and then I feel immense pain.

**Ok the next chapter is so heart breaking, I cried writing it. I didn't want to kill Clove guys! I'm just going along with the real Hunger Games book. Sneak Peek on my website, anyone feel bad for Cato and Clove now? Or is it still just me? ****IMPORTANT NOTE READ THIS!****! **

**Would any of you guy be interested in me writing an alternate ending story? Like what if Cato and Clove won the games sand not Katniss and Peeta? Please! Tell me your thoughts! If I did write one, would you read it? ~Bookfanic~**


	22. Chapter 22: I Love You

**Ok so I have had 5k+ views on this story which makes me feel extremely happy. I love you guys, from America, England, Canada, Germany, Australia, Singapore, Brazil, Philippines, France, Hungary, Netherlands, Mexico, United Arab Emirates, Irelans, Hong Kong, Belgium, and Republic of Korea (Yes I have that much variety!) You guys are amazing and are making my dreams about writing come true. (sorry if I missed your country that's where I have gotten views according to this website.)**

**WARNING: MAY MAKE YOU CRY**

**Cato's POV**

I don't like Clove's plan, not at all. I should be going down there with her, to fight with her and protect her from harm. But she wouldn't let me, and I have to be some help to her. So when 5 comes running into the forest, I chase after her, and I almost catch 5 when I hear, "CATO! CATO!" Clove is screaming for me at the top of her lungs.

"CLOVE!" I shout back, the only reason that Clove would be screaming is if she knew she was going to die and she needed help. I give up chasing 5, nothing is worth more than Clove's life to me, nothing. I sprint as fast as I can towards the Cornucopia, but I'm too far away, there's no plausible way that I can make it back in time to help Clove. I try anyway. I run out of the tree line fast enough to witness Thresh bringing down the rock and smashing in Clove's head.

Katniss and Thresh are having a conversation it seems. Katniss is bleeding above her eye and around the top of her lip. "Clove!" I yell, my voice is pained; I know that there's no way that she can live.

"You better run now, Fire Girl." Thresh tells Katniss, who flips over and runs away into the woods. Thresh is running towards his plain, with 2 black backpacks on his shoulder, one that says 2 and the other 11.

"Clove!" I call again, she's still alive, no cannon, but she's dying, I can tell. I run to Clove's side, spear in hand and my sword in the sheath. I kneel next to her, "Clove, please, please, stay with me." I beg.

Clove's eyes flutter open, "Cat?"

"I'm here." I tell her, grasping her hand.

"Are you… ok?" she asks.

"I'm fine," I say hastily.

"Tell my family… and Joce…and Shawna…..that I love them..." Clove's breaths are hastening.

"You can still make it back," I tell her. "You have to, there's no way I can go on without you. No way I could win. "

Clove smiles slightly, "you can, you're strong… brave… hot... how could you not win?"

She's making jokes while she's dying. I feel hot tears streaming down my face, a sign of weakness, do I care? No.

"I can't win without you," I tell her.

"You will win," Clove tells me, confidence in her weak voice. "I know you will, you have to, bring honor back to our District…. Make sure my family is ok…."

"You can do that too," I tell her, though deep in me I know there's no saving her. "We are going to win together, remember? Nothing will stop us."

"There isn't a way to heal me, Cat." Clove tells me gently.

"We have sponsors, it's possible for medicine-"

"Cat, you know we never had that many sponsors…"

"Maybe we do, but we just don't know it…" I trail off.

"Since when were you the optimistic one?" Clove asks me.

"Clove, don't leave me…"

"I don't want to… anyone who did would be crazy." Clove smiles at me, her eyes are beginning to fog up. She presses something into my hand, it's a sapphire ring, I guess that was her token I never really noticed it. "Take it … back to them… tell them… I'm sorry."

"Clove, you're going to win, we're going to go home, together."

"Home," Clove smiles, "Yes, go home Cat, you can do it, you're going home."

"So are you."

"Yes… I am… but I won't see it." Clove is talking about how her body is sent back to her family in 2.

"Don't talk like that, Clove," I tell her.

"Shouldn't a dying girl be able to talk as she wants?"

"Yes, but since you're not dying I don't see the point in you saying things like that."

Clove gives me a sad smile, "Cato, I'm dying; the sooner you accept it the easier it will be for you."

"You are not dying on me." I growl, "I will be very pissed off if you do that."

"Then I'll face your rage," Clove tells me. "There's nothing we can do, Cat. I, I love you."

My slow stupid brain takes a minute to process this. "What?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, I don't know why I didn't, I guess I was waiting for the right moment, but it's now or never so. I love you, Cato and I can't imagine a life without you."

The tears are flowing faster down my face now. "I can't imagine a life without you either, don't leave me, please."

"I'll wait for you," she tells me, "I'll always wait for you…."

"Don't go where I can't follow, please, Clove, stay here with me." I'm begging her now.

Clove gives my hand a little squeeze, "do me a favor."

"Anything," my eyesight is blurring from all the tears, the hot stinging tears.

"Don't, don't go out for revenge, and don't do anything rash." What is she talking about?

"But Clove," I say, "rash is my middle name."

Clove lets out a short laugh that ends in her coughing. "Please, don't do anything to risk your life, to avenge my death, my life isn't worth it."

"Your life is worth anything and everything; I'd give up anything for you, so please, stay with me."

"I…" I guess I'll never know what Clove was going to say because her eyes glaze over and her breathing stops.

"CLOVE! CLOVE!" I yell, I hear a cannon go off. "CLOVE!" I shake her as if that will bring her back. "Clove…" I lean my head down on Clove's forehead and hold her lifeless body to my own. I know that the Game Makers will want me to move away from the body, so they can pick her up and bring her back to her family. I cry, until I'm all out of tears, and then sob, my body shaking in fits. I have lost everything in these Games, there's nothing left for me at home. My mother has Solis, and Solis will soon enough have his own friends. He'll probably forget me by the time he's 5. Solis is too young to remember that he once had a brother who loved him dearly. My mother will get over me, and my father, I bet, won't even notice I'm gone.

After what seems like hours, I step away from Clove's body and watch as a hovercraft picks her up and carries her away, along with my heart.

I stand for a long time not really taking in what was happening, I try not to think, I can't even take in the fact that she's gone, it's too much to handle. After about maybe 4 hours of standing there I finally take it in, Clove's gone and she's not coming back I grip my spear tightly, I now have the blue backpack that Clove carried with her everywhere, it's all I have left of her, besides her ring. Clove's gone; she's gone because of Thresh. I hold the spear so tightly it's surprising I haven't broken it in half. _I will get him, I will avenge Clove's death, I don't care what she wanted me to do; she was too good for all of us in this Arena. I will win, I will win for Clove._

**Alright the END!**

**Just kidding I couldn't just end there. No it continues on. Now do you see why this story is called Just Tell Me You Love Me Already? Hmmm? Sneak Peek on my website, don't forget to review! Feedback is amazing, especially coming from you guys! **

**BTW I HAVE decided to write an alternate ending story to this, I've already started writing it, so I'll tell you guys when I post the first chapter. It's called Nothing and I'm enjoying writing it, it's the next story I intend to post. Though, idk when I will post it since I'm not even ¼ of a way through it. If I don't finish it by the time I'm done posting these chapters, you can check my website, IG, or just follow me for when I post Nothing. **

**~Bookfanic~**


	23. Chapter 23: Anger, Rage, and Grief

**Sorry I'm posting so late. I just went to a basketball game dedicated to my mom who has cancer The college here is so sweet. **

**Cato's POV**

I prepare myself to hunt down Thresh. Sword, check, spear, check, extra spear heads, check, sleeping bag, check, blanket, check, food, check, first-aid kit, check, filled water bags, check, matches, check. I found 2 carvings in Clove's backpack, a mountain lion and a bear. They are so realistic; it makes me feel even more homesick. I never even knew that Clove liked carving; add that to the list of things that I will never know about her….

I have everything with me that Clove would have brought, besides her assortment of knives of course. There is one thing keeping me going at the moment, avenging Clove's death, hunting down Thresh and making it painful. I don't care whether I live or die anymore; all I care about is avengement- nothing else.

Ironically the first time Clove told me that she loved me was also the last. I can clearly hear her voice in my head, "There's nothing we can do, Cat. I, I love you." Her voice saying I love you never leaves me. When I finally am prepared to go into the grain field, I begin to walk towards it, but something catches my eye. Something is shining in the grass, I walk over to it and find a silver arrow lying in the grass, some feet away from it another silver arrow lies in the grass, sparkling innocently in the sunlight. The second one has blood on it, Clove's blood, I know, there was a hole in her shoulder. I look at the two silver arrows in my hands. They are partially the reason for her death, they belonged to Katniss, if not for Katniss Clove wouldn't have been at the Cornucopia so long, if she wasn't at the Cornucopia so long then she wouldn't have been caught by Thresh, if she wasn't caught by Thresh she would be dead. I yell in rage and break the two arrows in half, leaving the pieces on the ground beneath me. I can feel myself losing it. Clove was my anchor in here, my anchor to my sanity, without her, there's nothing to hold me from crossing the line into insanity.

Walk, walk, walk, walk. I push myself forward into the field of grain, _Thresh, you'd better look out because I'm coming to get you and there's nothing you can do to stop me._

**Sadly, Cat's going to start losing his sanity now Clove's gone….. There's your sneak peek! Just kidding, sneak peek on my website and don't forget to review! ~BOOKFANIC~ (sorry about the SHORT chapter)**


	24. Chapter 24: Thresh

**Sorry guys for the late update, I've been reading The Spectacular Now for the past few hours, and honestly, I forgot to post! It's a really good book, I mean I don't usually read that type, I'm more of an action/adventure/supernatural/fantasy/romance gril, but ya know, I can try new things. So here's your chapter **

**Cato's POV**

2 days, I've been trekking through the field of grain for 2 whole days, trying to find Thresh. He hasn't shown himself yet; apparently he's smart enough to know to stay well out of my way, for now. It doesn't help my mood that it's pouring rain, or that I'm soaked head to toe. My sword is out, I'm cutting through the tall grass, not caring how much noise I make. Why would I? I want Thresh to come and find me, and then, and then I'll kill him. I'll kill him like he killed Clove, without remorse. I saw her on the ground, scrambling away from him on all fours, he didn't even bother to look back after he dented her head, then he just ran back into his field, like a coward. Thresh is a coward, he killed a small girl who was scrambling away from him on the ground. He left Clove there to die, not caring how painful it is. I'll make him pay; make him pay for killing my heart and my soul. For killing everything that mattered to me, with just one blow to the head.

"YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME, THRESH!" I yell in the field. The rain continues to pour down and lightning flashes. "I WILL FIND YOU EVENTUALLY THEN YOU'RE A DEAD MAN! YOU ARE A WALKING CORPSE! GET READY, BECAUSE YOU'RE ABOUT TO DIE!"

(A/N wanted to end it here, but I didn't want to be killed by you guys)

-o_o-

On the third day Thresh finally comes out from his hiding. He leaps at me from behind. I block his attack with my sword, though I skid backwards from the sheer strength of the attack. It's about 6 in the morning and I haven't rested since Clove's death. I can't, it would dishonor her memory if I sleep before killing her killer. I don't feel tired though either, I am operating from pure anger, I can imagine Clove scolding me now, don't act from anger, use your brain stupid Cat. I remember Clove's smile and the look on her face the morning of the Hunger Games. This fuels my anger. I slash my sword towards Thresh, he blocks. Thresh carries a crescent sword. I stab, block, and slash at Thresh, he is doing the same. Every time I feel like I'm tiring I remember something about Clove, and it energizes me to keep going.

We've been fighting for hours on end. Neither of us can seem to get the best of each other. After a few hours I scream at him, "You killed her! You deserve to die! You coward! Killing a girl on the ground beneath you, she was in your mercy and you killed her!" I send a strike towards Thresh's side, he moves away from the sword.

"She killed the little girl!" Thresh replies, his voice full of anger.

What little girl? He must be talking about Rue. "She never touched a hair on that girl!" I scream my voice full of 10 times more rage than Thresh's. "She was fond of her! She told all of us not to kill Rue! She forbid it!"

Thresh looks confused, "I heard her talk about the little girl!"

"Yeah and I heard her tell me that no one was to kill her!" I want to tear out Thresh's throat. "You killed her for something she didn't do! You never even looked back!"

Thresh looks dumbfounded. "I-"

He makes a mistake then and there; Thresh lets his guard down, giving me a chance to stab him in the rib cage, deep. We both have various cuts and bruises, but neither of us have gotten a real hit, until now. Thresh looks down, surprised to see my sword sticking out from between his ribs. I pull my sword out of him, blood splattering us both. The rain continues to pour down on us. Thresh swings his crescent sword at me, trying to take me down with him I guess. I block and take the spear that had been uselessly in my hand for the past 3 days and stick it above Thresh's stomach. Then I kick Thresh backwards, he hits the ground loudly, splattering mud all over me.

"I'm… sorry…" Thresh pants out. I know what he means he regrets killing Clove for Rue's sake, though he still killed her, I won't spare him, but I will shorten his pain.

"I don't forgive you," I tell him, "and in the afterlife you'd better hope that she has forgiven you, or else you'll never be happy." Before Thresh can say anything else I bring down my sword to shorten his pain. That is my last act of mercy though, from here on out there will be no more.

**Sneak peeks on my website and don't forget to review! Xoxo ~Bookfanic~**


	25. Chapter 25: Dreams and Visions

**Cato's POV**

After I kill Thresh I step back and let a hovercraft come over and pick up Thresh's large body. I walk back along the way that Thresh came from and I find a tent. Unzipping the tent I climb inside and find a sleeping bag, 2 backpacks, and some food sitting inside. So this is where he was the whole time. I'm guessing that in his backpack were the tent and possibly the sleeping bag. The second bag, the one labeled 2 is untouched; it's not even unzipped like the one labeled 11. I step over and unzip the bag; inside I find a skin-colored armor mesh. I feel it in my fingers, it's flexible yet hard, something that is probably very expensive in the Capitol.

I take the first armor and put it on under my clothes. It reaches all the way out to my fingers, covering my palms and the back of my hands. The armor is so light I can't even feel it. There is a second set of armor in the bag, a smaller set, one meant for Clove. I pick it out of the bag and hold it in my hands; I remember holding Clove's body after she died a painful memory. I step outside the tent, it is still pouring rain. I sink down to my knees and sit in the wet mud, the rain pours down over me, making my face wet. I can't even tell my tears apart from the rain droplets that fall onto me. It was Clove who was saying that we would need something to block Katniss's arrows and it took Clove's life to try and get this armor. I hug the other armor to me, remembering Clove in my embrace almost every night since the Reaping. I remember Clove's smile, the way her eyes lit up whenever she saw me. I remember watching Clove progress through the advanced class, how amazed and jealous I was about her success. Now Clove is gone, never to walk this earth again. I have killed the person who killed Clove, but to get home like she wished me to, I have to kill 3 more.

The last 3 left in the Arena all have part in Clove's death. If I hadn't been chasing the girl from 5 then I could've come to Clove's rescue when she needed ne, if Katniss wasn't there then Clove would've never been caught by Thresh, if not for Peeta, Katniss would have never been at the feast in the first place.

I can still feel my sanity slowly slipping away; bit by bit I'm losing it, like water flowing through a broken dam. With Clove I had everything, without Clove I am nothing but a shadow, a sliver of a shadow. The cool rain pours down over my face. I realize that I am tired, I haven't slept for days, and before I know what's happening I fall to the ground, darkness swirls around me.

When I wake up the sun is shining and the field of grain looks golden. I sit up and find that all my wounds have been bandaged, looking around, I see Clove sitting on a rock that I didn't even realize was there.

"Clove?" I ask.

"Yes?" she smiles at me.

"You're, you're alive, but, but, I saw you die, you died in my arms." I stutter.

"I'm not gone, silly Cat. I'll always be here with you, in your heart."

"So you're not real." I say disappointed.

Clove laughs, "I guess I'm not."

"What are you doing here?"

"I don't know, you tell me," she says. "I'm in your mind, you conjured me here."

"I guess it's because I miss you." I tell her.

"I miss you too," Clove smiles at me, "Though you are an idiot."

"Oh? How is that?" I ask her.

"You fell asleep in mud in the middle of a field while it's pouring rain." Clove points out. As a second though she says, "In the Hunger Games too, someone could easily come across you and chop off your head."

"Then I could join you."

Clove's face darkens. "Don't do that; don't die to be with me."

"It would be worth it."

"No, it really wouldn't be worth it. And I would be very pissed off at you if you did, if you really want to make me happy, Cat, then you'll try your hardest to live, and to get home."

"I will," I promise her, "I'll try."

"Good," Clove says, hopping off the rock, the sun is shining on her dark brown hair, it looks beautiful. "I'll wait for you; I'll always wait for you…"

I wake up to see that the sun is shining; it's got to be noon by now. I am practically stuck in the dirt, since it dried with the left side of my face in it, but I'm able to pull myself out. All I have left is my sword; my spear was taken from the Arena along with Thresh's body, since I didn't desire to take it out.

I look back at the tent, I already have a sleeping bag, and taking Thresh's tent doesn't seem right to me, though I'm not sure what is right and what is wrong anymore. I somehow manage to get back to the Cornucopia, Where I take off my backpack and wash myself off in the lake there, bringing back memories of Clove and I swimming, painful memories. After I've washed offal the mud I climb out of the lake, slinging the backpack on me. I don't care if I'm soaking wet, I'm going to hunt down everyone else so I can get home, like Clove wished me to. Though, I clean and bandage my wounds from my battle with Thresh, he was not an easy kill.

About an hour after I roam around in the forest, I hear a cannon blast, so one of the 4 of us left is dead. I wonder who it is until I see a hovercraft dip down and pick up a body, the red hair glints in the sun light. It's the girl from 5 the smart one, the one Clove disliked. Clove, Clove, Clove, Clove my mind whispers her name to me 24/7 it's driving me past madness, I already know that I miss her, no need to rub it in, brain.

Cato, male Tribute from District 2, died when Clove, female Tribute from District 2, passed away from a dented skull. All that is left is his body, still a pumping heart, but no soul, and no heart, no love, no mercy left. The last bit of mercy was spent on Thresh, there is now none left. When Cato's shadow self comes across 12, they'd better be ready.

(A/N wanted to end here but this little bit next would be a sad next chapter)

I head towards the place where 5 died, I find signs of people, but am not able to track them back to wherever. Though, earlier I swear I heard yelling. I travel all around, looking for signs of life, I find nothing. At nightfall I stop and rest in the sleeping bag, eat the rest of the food in my back pack. It's now mine, not Clove's that hurts too, I push the thought away. There are 3 of us left, the Game Makers are bound to push us together tomorrow, somehow, might as well eat to my fill now.

At night, 5's face appears in the sky, the Games are narrowing down and no one in the Capitol will be able to tear their eyes away from the screens, afraid to miss something important. I try and get some good sleep for the final show down tomorrow.

**The end of this story is drawing to a close. Next chapter may be the last one… Sneak Peek on my website (link in bio) don't forget to review! I'll post another chapter when I get more reviews. XoXo ~BOOKFANIC~ **


	26. Chapter 26: The Final Showdown

**Cato's POV **

I awaken to a growling noise. I look up and see a wolf staring at me; it has brown eyes and red hair. (A/N supposed to be the girl from 9 ok?) I'm not sure why, but it looks familiar, I jump from the sleeping bag, and cut off the wolf's head. Looking at the time I see it is about noon. I am about to pack up my bag when I hear a crashing noise, looking up, I see that there is a whole pack of wolf-mutts crashing towards me. I drop the bag and run, all I have left with me is my sword, and I sheath that then sprint away.

I run for a long time, if a wolf gets too close for comfort I'll draw my sword and cut its head off. So this is how they are drawing us together, by getting chased by dog-wolf-mutts. Finally I get an idea, the Cornucopia; if I can reach there without getting torn apart I can climb to the top of it. I sprint as fast as I can towards the Cornucopia. When I get to the area where it is, I see that 12 is already there. When Katniss sees me, she shoots a bow at me, surprisingly it just bounces off me, guess the armor works.

"He's got some kind of body armor!" I hear Katniss shout to Peeta.

I shoot between the two, shoving them a side and run towards the Cornucopia. I've been running for hours and I'm panting hard, there's sweat pouring off me, dripping into my eyes and mouth.

I jump up and land on the lowest part of the Cornucopia. I sit down after climbing to the very top, the highest part, as far as I can get away from the mutts. I watch as Katniss sprints towards the Cornucopia, completely leaving Peeta in the dust, that proves her amount of love for him. Peeta is hobbling about 15 feet behind her, and the mutts are closing in on Peeta, fast. Katniss draws her silver bow and sends an arrow into the pack of mutts, killing one, one out of many.

Peeta waves frantically at Katniss, "Go, Katniss! Go!" That's real love, willing to sacrifice yourself for those who you love, not run away and leave them to handle certain death by themselves. To my surprise she listens to him and continues to climb the Cornucopia. If it were Clove on the ground there I'd be guarding her back and killing every single one of those damn mutts for trying to kill her.

At the top of the Cornucopia she is holding her hands, as if burnt, that's when I realize how hot the golden metal is, right now I'm lying on my side, gasping, and gagging over the edge. If Clove was here she'd be helping me out now, but she's not and she will never be here again. I hear a noise and see Katniss pointing an arrow at me. Go ahead, I think kill me; send me to be with Clove, the girl I love.

But then Peeta cries out in pain, and she turns to run and help him. He's at the tail end of the Cornucopia, just starting to climb. I don't see how they can't just jump, but then, they are from 12. "CLIMB!" Katniss yells to Peeta. No duh. She shoots an arrow and I hear one mutt die. Peeta has reached Katniss's feet and she is now pulling him up. Apparently she just remembers me because Katniss's head whips around and stares at me; I'm clutching my side (horrible cramp) and staring down at the mutts. "Can they climb it?" I ask it comes out along with coughs.

"What?!" Katniss shouts at me.

"He said, 'Can they climb it?'" thank you non-deaf one.

The mutts are putting their snouts on the horn and sniffing it, tasting the metal, and tasting the metal. They scrape their paws over the surface and then yip at each other like they have been doing for hours, some kind of communication.

One of them with blonde fur runs and leaps onto the horn. This mutt's back legs are powerful, since it lands just 10 feet below us. Something bothers me about this mutt, it looks…. Familiar. The mutt's pink lips are pulled back into a snarl, green eyes staring at the 3 of us. The mutt wears a collar like a creepy rabid dog; it is inlaid with jewels and has the number 1 on it.

Katniss lets out a shriek; she shakily places an arrow in her bow and aims it at the mutt. The mutt is already sliding backwards, off the side of the Cornucopia. The sound of its claws scraping against the gold is like nails scarping against a blackboard, Katniss fires an arrow down the mutt's throat, its body twitches then it flops to the ground.

"Katniss?" Peeta grips her arm. Ha, if Katniss had a nick name it would sound the same as the one Clove gave me, Cat, Kat. Clove, I'll be home soon.

"It's her!" Katniss shrieks.

"Who?"

Katniss's head whips side to side as she observes the mutt pack, I look down at them, something does seem disturbingly familiar about them, especially a small one with glossy dark brown fur and green eyes, who is looking at me with its teeth bared in hatred.

"What is it, Katniss?" Peeta asks again.

"It's them." I hear her choke out. "It's all of them. The others. Rue and Foxface and... All the other tributes."

Ah, so that's why the blonde one looked so familiar and gave me a weird feeling, that is how I imagine all my ex's (there are a lot) when they try to get back together with me. But the one with brown hair… Clove…. How did I not see this before?

I hear Peeta gasp. "What did they do to them? You don't think… those could be their real eyes?"

I don't know why Peeta is worrying about eyes, but I imagine Clove's dead body lying on a table while people in white scoop out her eyes. It's so disturbing to think about that I stop, though if that is what happened I will find whoever was involved and cut off all of their heads.

The mutts attack the Cornucopia again; they are separated into 2 groups on each side of the horn, left and right. They keep jumping up, trying to get on. I hear Peeta let out a cry of pain, and see him yanked over the side of the Cornucopia. The only thing keeping Peeta up off the ground is Katniss's arm, but Katniss is struggling. I could easily push them both off and win, but that wouldn't be fair… would it?

"KILL IT, PEETA! KILL IT!" Katniss shouts, Peeta obeys and stabs the mutt in the snout, causing it to let go. Katniss hauls Peeta back up on top of the Cornucopia. I am still not on my feet yet, though I have managed to slow my breathing.

Katniss shoots the Thresh-mutt, he's gigantic.

As Katniss turns to face Peeta I grab him and get him in a headlock. I'm cutting off Peeta's air. There is only a small bit of sanity left in me, enough to realize that I've lost almost all of my sanity. Peeta is weakly clawing at my arm; it does nothing to loosen my grip. Katniss has 2 arrows left; she aims one at my head.

I laugh, "Shoot me and he goes down with me." I sound like a mad man, I am a mad man.

The mutts go silent, as if watching to see what will happen. I'm laughing, laughing while I strangle a boy. Insane, that's where I have gotten since Clove's death. Once Peeta's dead I can use his body against Katniss. This is what Clove wanted for me, to win and get home, right? Once I'm done laughing I give Katniss a triumphant smile, I've won.

Peeta is tickling my hand, I see he's drawn something in blood it's an X… It takes me exactly 1.5 second to realize what it means. I immediately drop my insane smile. Katniss's arrow hits my hand, though it is covered with the armor, I still reflexively let go of Peeta, who slams back against me and I lose my footing then fall about 30 feet off the Cornucopia.

**Alright one last chapter left in the story…. Sneak peek on my website, and don't forget to review! See you soon (hopefully) **

**I've been working on Nothing all day…. It's going to be a long, long, long story, this story took me a month to write, so IDK when I'm going to finish Nothing, but I really hope that I can post the first chapter by the time that I'm done posting this story. **

**~Bookfanic~**


	27. Chapter 27: Goodbye

**To everyone that has read and reviewed this, I love you guys, and I plan on having the first chapter of Nothing up in at most 4 days. **

**Cato's POV **

The air leaves my body on the impact of me hitting the hard packed ground. The mutts immediately attack me. I cut and slice them with my sword. I howl in pain when they manage to bite me where my armor doesn't protect, and they howl and pain as I kill them, I move around the side of the Cornucopia, wading through the sea of mutts. I have to make it back to the tail of the Cornucopia, Clove wanted me to win, and I have to do it, for her.

But when Clove's mutt is standing in front of me I can't bring myself to kill her. She snarls and leaps at me, claws ripping across my face. I let out a yell of pain as the hot warm blood falls into my mouth. This isn't Clove, she'd never do this to me, but before I can fight back, the sword is knocked from my hands and I fall to the ground. 'Clove's' teeth wrap around my leg (though it's protected by the armor) and pull me into the Cornucopia. I regret putting on this armor, all night long the mutts eat away at me, tearing away strips of skin and meat at a time. I'm dead, and I know it, I'm sorry, Clove. I couldn't win for you. Thinking about it now I realize how actually insane I got. On the brink of death I think about every single one of my mistakes, everything that I've done wrong and can never fix now. The mutts tear away everything that they can that isn't guarded by the armor. I know why I'm not dead yet, this is the height of excitement, the Game Maker's couldn't end it now, no one will be at all tearing their eyes away from the screen, my pain is their entertainment. The sun is starting to come up and I'm still not dead yet, I wish that I was though, I'm in so much pain, I will soon probably die from blood loss, it's pooling around me.

"Please….Please…Please…" I'm begging anyone now, I just want to die, and I'm done fighting.

After what seems like forever I see a head stick down, I open my mouth, it is instantly filled with blood, through the pool of blood in my mouth I manage to say, "Please." Compared to the pain I was in the second of pain from the arrow head feels like a pin prick, and then everything is gone.

**The End. **

**I have an Epilogue, Sneak Peak of it on my website. **

**~BOOKFANIC~**


	28. Epilogue part 1

**Epilogue Part 1**

**Rose's POV**

For the whole of the 74th Hunger Games, I sat in my living room on the couch with Jocelyn, Shawna, Rex and my mother. We all watched Clove in the Tribute parade, she looked beautiful and regal, that's something I never thought of my baby sister as. For her scoring, everyone was sitting on the edge of the couch clutching each other's hands and praying for a good score. When the 10 popped up and the 5-1 I swear the neighbors we on the brink of calling the Peace Keepers for disturbance during the night. The 5 of us watched the Games anxiously. Clove was doing well; she had killed the most so far. When that girl from 1 started to bother her (what was her name? Glitter?) Jocelyn started yelling some very rude things at her, including a place where she should stick one of her arrows. When Katniss dropped the Tracker Jackers on the sleeping Alliance, everyone was yelling at Katniss for dropping them, at Rue for pointing them out even though Clove said that no one was to hurt her, and at Glimmer for falling asleep during her watch.

We all cheered at Glimmer's death, though. The 5 of us watched as the screen showed 5 different people suffering from the Tracker Jacker venom. Then when the supplies blew up, Cato had a temper tantrum, it already showed that Clove and him were in a relationship, but when he threw his tantrum he seemed especially mad at 3 and Clove. I saw 3 kiss Clove, but she immediately pushed him away and told him she liked someone else, 3 looked hurt and that was the last thing Clove said to 3 before his death. Then the fight that Cato and Clove had, she didn't even try and defend herself when Cato sliced her leg. Jocelyn was literally screaming at the top of her lungs at Cato, describing _exactly_ where he should stick his sword next. Of course, Clove healed her leg pretty quickly with her special Capitol medicine and she got back together with Cato. At the second part Jocelyn was screaming at Clove for going back with the good for nothing worthless jealous bastard.

Then there was the feast, Clove went after Katniss as soon as she appeared, throwing a knife right above her eye, nice Clove. I was never good with knives, I never understood them. We all watched as thresh ran to the table and was leaving, but he turned when Clove said Rue's name, she did always have a temper.

"Turn around Clove!" We're all screaming, but she was too concentrated on Katniss to notice the giant mountain coming behind her.

Then the mountain grabbed her, throwing her to the ground.

"WHAT'D YOU DO TO THAT LITTLE GIRL?! YOU KILL HER?!"

"No! No, it wasn't me!" Clove is panicking.

"YOU SAID HER NAME! I HEARD YOU! YOU KILL HER? YOU CUT HER UP LIKE YOU WERE GOING TO CUT UP THIS GIRL HERE?!"

"No! No, I –" Clove sees the rock in Thresh's hand and loses it, why doesn't she just throw a knife into Thresh? "CATO! CATO!" Clove is screaming for me at the top of her lungs.

"CLOVE!" The screen shows Cato, giving up chase on the girl from 5 to rush to Clove's aid. He arrives out of the forest in time to see Thresh smash in Clove's head. We all shrieked at that, it's obvious from the dent in her skull that Clove isn't going to make it, back home or even another 20 minutes. Jocelyn is sobbing and Shawna is comforting her while silent tears stream down her eyes. My mother's face is in her hands and her body is shaking, and Rex is just staring, paralyzed at the screen projector.

Katniss and Thresh have a conversation. "Clove!" Cato yells, his voice is pained, he knows that there's no way to save her.

"You better run now, Fire Girl." Thresh tells Katniss, who flips over and runs away into the woods. Thresh is running towards his plain, with 2 black backpacks on his shoulder, one that says 2 and the other 11.

"Clove!" Cato calls again, she's still alive, no cannon, but she's dying. Cato runs to Clove's side, spear in hand and his sword in the sheath. He kneels next to her, "Clove, please, please, stay with me." Cato begs.

Clove's eyes flutter open, "Cat?"

"I'm here."

"Are you… ok?" she asks.

"I'm fine."

"Tell my family… and Joce…and Shawna…..that I love them..." Clove's breaths are hastening. This of course, makes Jocelyn and Shawna cry more, my mother's sobbing is getting louder and I see a waterfall of tears coming from Rex's face. I touch my own face and realize that I too am crying. I never paid much attention to Clove, she used to like to follow me and my friends around like an annoying tag along, and so that's how I treated her. Now that she's dying I realize that I have missed 15 years of bonding with my sister, a 15 years that I will never get back.

"You can still make it back," Cato tells her, even though it's hopeless. "You have to, there's no way I can go on without you. No way I could win. "

Clove smiles slightly, "you can, you're strong… brave… hot... how could you not win?"

She's making jokes while she's dying. I see tears streaming down Cato's face, a sign of weakness, in 2, but we're all crying, this shows that he actually cared for her.

"I can't win without you."

"You will win," Clove tells Cato, confidence in her weakening voice. "I know you will, you have to, bring honor back to our District…. Make sure my family is ok…." I want to tell her that we won't be fine, not without her, but I can't.

"You can do that too. "We are going to win together, remember? Nothing will stop us."

"There isn't a way to heal me, Cat." Clove tells Cato in a gentle voice that I've never heard from her before, filled with love and affection.

"We have sponsors, it's possible for medicine-"

"Cat, you know we never had that many sponsors…"

"Maybe we do, but we just don't know it…"

"Since when were you the optimistic one?"

"Clove, don't leave me…"

"I don't want to… anyone who did would be crazy." Clove smiles. Even from where I sit I can see that her eyes are beginning to fog up. She presses something into Cato's hand, my ring, the one I gave her as her token. "Take it … back to them… tell them… I'm sorry." Our crying gets louder, I'm sure that the neighbors would call the peace keepers, but they don't for our sakes, since one of our family members has died.

"Clove, you're going to win, we're going to go home, together."

"Home," Clove smiles, "Yes, go home Cat, you can do it, you're going home."

"So are you."

"Yes… I am… but I won't see it." Clove is talking about how her body is sent back to us here in 2.

"Don't talk like that, Clove." Cato is scolding her.

"Shouldn't a dying girl be able to talk as she wants?"

"Yes, but since you're not dying I don't see the point in you saying things like that."

Clove gives Cato a sad smile, "Cato, I'm dying; the sooner you accept it the easier it will be for you."

"You are not dying on me." He growls, "I will be very pissed off if you do that."

"Then I'll face your rage. There's nothing we can do, Cat. I, I love you." It's already obvious that she does, from the way she looks at Cato, and the way he looks at her, I wish I could find love that pure.

"What?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, I don't know why I didn't, I guess I was waiting for the right moment, but it's now or never so. I love you, Cato and I can't imagine a life without you." Wow, when did she get to be romantic?

The tears are flowing faster down Cato's face faster now. "I can't imagine a life without you either, don't leave me, please."

"I'll wait for you," she tells him, "I'll always wait for you…."

"Don't go where I can't follow, please, Clove, stay here with me." He's begging her.

"Do me a favor."

"Anything,"

"Don't, don't go out for revenge, and don't do anything rash."

"But Clove, rash is my middle name." True, he does seem to have a very rash impulsive side.

Clove lets out a short laugh that ends in her coughing. "Please, don't do anything to risk your life, to avenge my death, my life isn't worth it."

"Your life is worth anything and everything; I'd give up anything for you, so please, stay with me." We all would, give up anything at this moment to have Clove live, but trying anything would be futile, she's already almost dead.

"I…" Clove trails off, on the screen you can she her stop breathing and she stares blankly at the sky.

"CLOVE! CLOVE!" Cato is yelling, a cannon goes off, signaling Clove's death. "CLOVE!" he shakes her as if that will bring her back. "Clove…" Cato leans his head down on Clove's forehead and holds her lifeless body to his own.

-o_o-

Jocelyn and Shawna went up to what used to be Clove's room; I think they want to be where the most Clove is. My mother leaves to her bedroom, leaving Rex and I on the big couch to watch the Games. Rex still hasn't moved from the position he was in when Clove got her head smashed in. I scoot over to my twin. "Rex?" I wave my hand in his face, Rex doesn't even blink. "Rex!"

He finally seems to break from his trance, "She's…. gone." Is all he says.

"I know," I say, Rex's face buries into my shoulder as his body shakes with sobs.

-o_o-

Rex seems to regain his composure when Cato is yelling into the field "YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME, THRESH! I WILL FIND YOU EVENTUALLY THEN YOU'RE A DEAD MAN! YOU ARE A WALKING CORPSE! GET READY, BECAUSE YOU'RE ABOUT TO DIE!"

"Go kill the bastard," Rex says through gritted teeth.

Then the screen shows Katniss and Peeta playing house in a cave, seriously?

But when the fight between Cato and Thresh breaks out, the screen switches to them, Cato finally kills Thresh, who regrets killing Clove now, but he did it, and there's no way to take what he did back.

Clove's body has arrived back here by now; she's in a special Capitol preserving glass coffin, so she doesn't rot or anything. The dented side of her head it lying on that side, so it kind of looks like she's sleeping, especially after Rex opens the coffin and closes her eyes.

-0_0-

We have Clove's body cremated. Her ashes sit in a diamond jar that we had made especially for her, today we are going to the top of Eagle Mountain (one of Clove's more favorite mountains) to spread her ashes in the winds, as 2's tradition. The people coming along with us (us as in my family) are Jocelyn, Shawna, Solis, and Cato's mother, his father apparently was too 'busy' to come, we all know that he is crying in a bar. Cato's body arrived in 2 about 4 days ago, the day we were going to take Clove's ashes to the mountain, but when Cato's bloodied 'body' came in; both families got together and decided to wait so that their ashes could blow away together.

Brutus and Enobaria came back without speaking to anyone; I guess they were confident in either or both Cato and/or Clove winning, we all were. The 2 jars sit next to each other, one is diamond and the other is pure gold. Shawna and Jocelyn are going to be carrying Clove's ashes to the top of the mountain, as they knew her best, and Solis will be carrying Cato's, though, in a bag so he doesn't drop it. Many of Cato's friends wanted to come to Cato's ash spreading ceremony, but his mother refused.

-o_o-

The 7 of us sit at the top of Eagle Mountain with the 2 jars sitting in the middle of us, we are all sharing memories or things that we loved about out lost one. "I remember," Jocelyn said once, tears are streaming down her cheeks, but she's also laughing. "That I bought Clove a dress once and it was really short and tight. I also bought her 5 inch heels to wear with them," Shawna is smiling now too, I can't help but feel jealous of these two, they knew my sister so much better than I did. "So I made her walk around in it, and a bunch of boys were whistling at her. Clove never really got the point of heels, so when she was walking around the little park we have, she tripped over her own feet and face-planted in the mud." Shawna and Jocelyn are now both crying and laughing.

"I remember," Rex begins. "That when Clove was little, she used to watch Rose shoot a bow, and me use a sword and she really looked up to us then, so she got 2 sticks and used a kitchen knife to sharpen one of them into a sword-like looking thing and the other she tied a string onto- like a bow. She was 5 at the time, and we were 8. So I was making fun of her about her wooden weapons, and she threw the kitchen knife at me, pinning me against the wall by my shirt. I think that was when Clove decided that she wanted to take on knife throwing." I smile at the thought.

"Once when Cato was 14," Cato's mother says. "He saw a boy named Gomati picking on Solis (1), so he took Gomati and hung him from a tree from his underwear. When some adult finally came to take Gomati down, Cato kicked the tree, causing Gomati to fall face first into the ground from about 10 feet in the air."

After about an hour or two of sharing memories and stuff about the 2 people, we all stand up, open the jars and take handfuls of the ashes, letting them fly away in the mountain breeze to find a new life together. I really hope that somewhere those 2 are happy, they deserve it. I will never forget my little sister, never. Everything I do from here on out, I'll do in part for my baby sister who never really lived but had a better life than most people will ever have.

**I think I'll post the Epilogue in 4 parts, it's pretty long. Sneak Peek of the next chapter on my website. ALSO THERE IS A SNEAK PEEK TO NOTHING THERE TOO-Don't forget to review, ~Bookfanic~**


	29. Epilogue part 2

**Epilogue part 2**

**Cato's POV **

I open my eyes and see a bright light. Sitting up, I see that I'm lying in a meadow. There are mountains all around me, the sun is high in the sky, and there isn't a cloud in sight. I am wearing a simple white T-shirt, jeans, and combat boots. I wonder where I am, until I remember something, the night in the Cornucopia, the one where Katniss shot me in the head. I'm dead. (A/N not rhyme intended) So, this is the afterlife. I thought that Clove would be with me when I woke up in the afterlife, but there isn't anyone in this meadow, anywhere. I'm alone. Standing up I stretch out my arms and legs, I'm fine, nothing broken or bruised. Looking back on the recent past events, I really did go insane after Clove's death. Pretty much my only thought was to win, to win for Clove. But she wouldn't have wanted me to win, not like how I was, which was, well, insane.

Where am I? I think. I decide to go look around, 10 feet in front of me, a paper sits on the soft green lush grass. A beautiful flowing handwriting says,

_Your last journey is ending here and today a totally new one is beginning for you. Go out and explore to your hearts content. There has been a special place made here for you, you will find it when the time is right. Good Luck. _

I listen to what the note says, as it is the only thing that could help me out at all. I begin to walk forward. I walk in as straight as a line I can, through grasses and trees. I climb the mountains and cross rivers, jump small ravines and so much more. I still haven't found anywhere that especially suits me, and I've been looking around for what seems like years. But I love this, exploring nature and seeing extraordinary new places that I never even dreamed of seeing. Being in nature is like my home. My home is where I can feel comfortable and I feel comfortable in nature.

None of these mountains have trails, juts deer ad goat trails, so when I climb them they take a long time to climb, but I had practice, living in 2 I sometimes went to see my Grandparents (mom's side) who lived on the top of one of the many mountains. None of the forests or grasses has any trails, showing someone else has ever been this way before. Maybe I'm in this whole world alone and this is punishment for all the people I killed in the Games.

_I'm sorry_, I think. The mountain I'm climbing seems to have gotten steeper, but if I climb down now I've wasted a good 5 hours. I keep climbing, up, up, and up. These mountains are new, you can tell from how they're pointed. Nearing the top, there is a steep almost straight up part of the mountain; I get to climb it, joy. I am surprised when I find after many minutes that I'm almost to the top of the tall steep part. I grab for a root sticking out of the rock, it breaks under my weight, leaving me hanging holding onto a fast breaking root in midair. I wonder if you could die in the afterlife. Like if you were to fall like 30 feet onto hard rock. I close my eyes, hoping it will be less painful than my last death when something- someone grabs my hand and pulls me the last 5 feet up.

I look to thank my saver, and I recognize her immediately. Dark brown hair, green eyes, short with freckles. "Clove!" I exclaim.

Clove smirks, "Hey Cat."

I hug Clove until I hear her say, "suffocating…me." I let go.

"I'm sorry; I just missed you, so much."

Clove gives me a small smile, "I missed you too, more than you could imagine." She gets up on her tip toes and kisses me. My whole body lights up with fire as soon as Clove's lip touch mine. The adrenaline I feel every time I see her is heightened; I forgot how much I loved Clove's kisses.

"You'd be surprised," I murmur.

"No, I doubt that I would be," Clove says. "I've waited here for you, like I promised and like I always will."

"It's beautiful here," I say looking around; I see an eagle's nest nearby with 3 little fuzzy chicks chirping away. The eagles don't even seem to mind us.

"You think up here is beautiful?" Clove asks me.

I nod.

"Wait until you see the house." She's smiling.

"We have a house?" I ask her.

Clove's smile gets wider, "I dreamed of it once while we were in the Games. It's beautiful, come on, I'll show you."

Clove and I carefully climb down the mountain; I'm still in shock from seeing her, which I never thought that I would again. When I slip slightly, Clove is there to catch me; she seems to be able to walk this mountain with her eyes closed. "Clove?"

"Mm?"

"How long has it been… since the Games?"

"Well, time is different here," Clove says, "where it has been like years here, it has only been a matter of months on earth."

"So Peeta and Katniss won the Games," I say.

"Yeah, they did," Clove smiles, "But not in the way the Capitol wanted."

"What do you mean?"

"Well the morning after you- well- died, they announced that they actually couldn't change the rule of one Victor." Yes, that sounds like something the Capitol would do. "But neither Katniss nor Peeta wanted to kill each other. So they got out these berries called Nightlock,-which will kill you before they even hit your stomach -and they ate them."

"So… they're dead too?"

"No, the Capitol stopped them, and now they're both Victors."

"Oh," I say.

"But that thing with the berries set off a long time coming rebellion."

"'Against the Capitol?"

"Against what else?"

"So… who won?"

"No one, yet, though it looks like luck is on the Districts' side."

"Good."

"Yeah and here we are."

I didn't even notice that we were walking through a valley; all I was thinking about was Clove. Looking up I see a huge house, it has marble columns and a huge oak door, being from the masonry District I know that this house is very well built.

"This is our house," Clove looks so happy.

"Clove…"

"Unless of course you no longer want me… in which case you can go on and find somewhere else that fits you better."

It takes me a while to process what Clove just said, her face falls when I don't reply.

"Oh… I get it; well… it was nice seeing you Cato." She turns to go into the beautifully built house.

"Clove!" I grab her wrist. "How could you even think that I would not want you? Who wouldn't want you? You're beautiful, smart, strong, and you're everything good. Any guy who wouldn't want you is crazy, though I'll probably beat up anyone who does want you, because you're mine."

Clove smiles, "and you're mine."

"Nothing can get in our way of being together," I say.

"Nothing," Clove says quietly after me.

**Aw! They're reunited. Sneak Peek of the next chapter on my website (link in bio) review! I love reading them they put a smile on my face every time. ~Bookfanic~**


	30. Epilogue part 3

**Epilogue part 3 **

**Clove's POV**

**(A/N did you guys expect another Clove's POV after her death?)**

It's been 10 years since Cato and I were reunited (sounds cheesy right? What else am I supposed to say?) We seem to have stopped aging at 20. Cato proposed to me 2 months to the day that we were reunited.

_Cato is pulling me outside, "C'mon! We're going to climb the mountain!" he says. _

_I laugh and follow him, we help each other up the mountain and when we reach the top, the sun is setting leaving us with a beautiful soft orange color. _

"_Look how beautiful the sunset is," I say, breathing in the mountain air. _

"_You kind of ruin it," Cato tells me. _

_I turn to face him, "What do you mean?"_

"_Your beauty compared to the sunset, it just makes the sunset look like something you'd find in a sewer."_

_I feel heat rise into my face. "Mentioning the sewer part kinda ruined it," I tell him._

"_Damn, I've been working on that since last week."_

_I laugh, "I thought I heard you talking to yourself in the bathroom."_

"_So, what? Now you're stalking me?"_

"_No we share a bedroom, and I can hear you when you're in the bathroom. Though could you blame anyone for stalking you?" _

"_No, I am quite dashing," Cato flashes me a smile. _

"_And you are quite mine," I say, "If anyone tries to make a move on you then I'll tear their throats out." _

"_That's the sweet peaceful girl I fell in love with," Cato jokes. _

_I punch him playfully in the arm. _

"_But really," I turn to face the sunset again, "the sunset is beautiful." _

"_Never as beautiful as you," I turn to face Cato, he's on one knee and there's a little box open in his hand. In the box sits a familiar looking ring with a sapphire in the top. "Clove, I love you, and I will always love you. I can't imagine any life without you, so would you do me the honor of marrying me?" _

_My hands are over my mouth and my nose; tears are streaming down my face. I nod, "Yes, I'd love to." I say. _

_Cato's handsome face breaks into a smile; he takes the ring out of the box and slips it on my left hand. I know that it was Rose's ring, but to me, it means more than anything, he kept it through all this time. I'm crying, tears of happiness, I hug Cato and he hugs me back. _

"_We're going to be married," I say. _

"_Yes, now all we have to worry about is how to do it in the middle of nowhere," Cato jokes. _

_I smile, "We'll figure something out, since we won't let a little thing like being in solitude stop us." _

"_Never," Cato says, kissing my wet face. _

Cato and I got married about a month later. We did the whole thing by ourselves and our vows together. I slipped a gold ring onto his hand and he mine. It was the happiest day of my life. I wore a midnight blue silk dress and black heels, while Cato wore a Tux with a midnight blue bow tie. He looked so handsome; his hair gelled back, revealing his perfect face. 3 months afterwards I got pregnant and 9 months later Cat and I have a pair of twins. A girl and a boy, the girl has Cato's blonde hair, and my freckles and green eyes. The boy has my brown hair and freckles, but he has Cato's eyes. Their names are Rose and Solis, for the siblings we left behind and for our new life ahead of us. Now, 10 years later, we have 2 8 year olds and are expecting another child soon.

Cato and I are happier than ever, we occasionally look at what's happening on earth, but with our new lives, we have to leave behind our old and pay closer attention to the new. I know though, that Rose, Rex, Joce, my mother, and Shawna survived the rebellion. Before Cato came, I watched my family and friends fall into despair about my death. I watched as Cato lost his sanity, and I couldn't do anything. I wished I could, but I couldn't. So I watched and waited.

Living in solitude is good for 2 people who don't really work out well with others. Cato and I go hunting, with knives and guns; there are plenty of animals in the woods, and plants. This is my life now and I love it.

**Loving life it's good that they're happy. 1 more part left. Sneak peek on my website and don't forget to review! **

**Ugh, I'm having writers block on writing Nothing, it's just not coming, lol, I think I'm going to have to post that story once a week, sorry! **

**Xoxo ~Bookfanic~**


	31. Epilogue part 4: The End

**Epilogue part 4**

**For the whole, how can they have kids if they're dead? They're kind in like a Tribute Heaven; it's like earth but not on earth, great explanation right? lol**

**Solis (Cato's little brother) POV**

It's been 20 years since the rebellion, and the rebels won. Everything has been quiet since, but I never forgot about my older brother, Cato. I hardly remember him though, I remember he used to play with me all the time and that he would beat the crap out of anyone who dared to make fun of me. But I go back and watch his Games every year to remind myself of him. I can clearly remember his ashes ceremony. We let him and the girl he loved go, drifting away into sky, the wind carrying them along, and together.

For the 75th Hunger Games, the one after Cato's, it was a Quarter Quell. Brutus and Enobaria had never been the same after both their Tributes died, they became harsher and more violent. So when they had a chance, both of them volunteered to go back into the Game. Enobaria is still alive, though, Brutus died. I still live where District 2 used to be, on top of Eagle Mountain, where I let go of my brother and his true love. When I go back and watch the Games (as painful as they are) every year it becomes so much more obvious how much they love each other. At first I noticed nothing, then I saw their longing glances at each other when no one was looking, and how they each got jealous of like anyone who showed the slightest interest in the other. Also every conversation they had you could practically feel the sexual tension.

Before the Games, Clove was just a random girl I'd heard about and never really paid attention to. The first real time I actually looked and paid attention to her was when I was 12 watching the Games. I see now that she had an extraordinary talent with weapons and how she had captured my brother's attention. Clove was beautiful, strong, brave, playful, and confident, it's something that I wish I could find in a girl. I also wish that I could find true love, as Cato did, but so far I've been out of luck. I still look up to Cato, or Cat as Clove called him, even though he's dead I can still learn a lot from him from his Games. Cato lives on in my heart, and my mother's. My father died during the rebellion, and my mother lives in the Victor's house that I grew up in. Many people still live in the 2 area, since this is where they feel the most comfortable.

It is peaceful, no wars, no games, no tyranny. I hear that Katniss Everdeen is living in the remains of 12 with her husband, Peeta or Lover Boy as Cato called him. I've forgiven Katniss, even though she killed my brother she did it from mercy, he was suffering greatly and she put him out of his misery. He wasn't just suffering from physical pain, but you could see him loosing himself after Clove died. I hope that whatever afterlife he's in, he's with her, with Clove. It was when he seemed the happiest and well, most sane. The Mayor here is named Gale Hawthorn, he's fair but opinionated. I like him, he speaks his mind, and I admire him for it. Apparently he was Katniss Everdeen's best friend, until something happened, what, I don't know. He doesn't have a girlfriend or wife, which is surprising because he is actually quite young and handsome (coming from a perfectly straight guy). Ok, well he's not young and handsome anymore, but he used to be, and practically all the girls were throwing themselves at him, but he turned down every single one of them.

I sit atop the mountain and stare down to where people are milling around in the streets. I wonder if Cato was alive what he would be doing right now. I wonder if Cato was alive what everyone else would be doing right now too.

-0_0-

**Peeta's POV**

I never told Katniss about the promise that Clove made me, it would just make her feel bad. But now, we have children and a happy life, we promised no secrets, so today I'm going to tell her about Clove, about how we would both be dead without her. I'm sure that the other Tributes had voted no for me joining the Alliance but Clove convinced them to say yes, and she could've climbed the tree to kill Katniss, but she didn't.

"Katniss?" I say.

"Yes?" Katniss says mimicking my voice.

"There's something I should tell you…."

**THE END for real. How'd you guys like it? It's been fun. Your reviews are amazing; they are always able to put a smile on my face. I never thought I'd get this far in reviews, I thought at most I'd get 25, so THANKYOU you made me so happy to read the reviews. I have lots of other stories I'm done or working on, so stay tuned for more. **

**ATTENTION! Nothing Chapter 1 should be up tomorrow. **

**Lots of Love and I'll see you soon, ~Bookfanic~ **


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